This Is War- Book One of the DragonBorn Trilogy
by Crystallion12
Summary: It's been 15 years since Hiccup and Toothless, Captains of the City of Dracoris, rose to realms, dreams and feats far above Midgard. They've destroyed the city of Rome, slain the Undead Army of a Thousand... But as a terrifying, scarlet dragoness begins an era of terror, suddenly, old friends are foes, and it seems like they'll have to return to Berk, after all. [Rated T, ReWrite.]
1. Part 1, Prologue- An Occupational Hazard

**T** **his is Wa** **r**

 **'A** **How To Train Your Dragon Fanfictio** **n'**

 **Rated: T- Contains: Strong Violence, War Themes, Blood and Gore, Mild Language, Minor/Mild Adult Themes.**

 **Genre: Fantasy / Adventure [Action]**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own HttyD. Rights go to Respective Owners.** __

 _ **Note: For avoiding confusion, please read the Author's Note down below. For a guide of speaking types within this story, see below.**_

"This is human text."

'This is Dragonese- dragon text.'

' _This is when an Alpha dragon speaks in Dragonese.' - "This is when an Alpha/dragon speaks in human tongue."_

 _This stands for thoughts, or telepathic communication._

' _-This is when an animal/mythical creature/other human speaks in what the perspective can translate. Otherwise, a translated language. Dragonese (the language of dragons) avoids this rule for its wide use throughout the story.-'_

 _ **Now, with that confusing stuff out the way, let the war commence!**_

 **Part One: The Night Fury and his Rider**

 **X-x-X**

 **Prologue: An Occupational Hazard**

 **Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo**

 _ **Sometime around the arrival of the Viking settlers of Berk-**_

 _ **[Approximately: 2150_D (human/normal years) ]**_

' _Of course not,_ ' She muttered, sighing. ' _I was just proving a point, Elder, and indeed, you must agree that these two-legged mortals could be dangerous beasts._ '

There was a troubled sigh. 'Indeed, my Queen… But I believe that we should not ignore them.'

The greyed creature, one of the eight Elders of the next, shakily lifted its head as she nodded. Small, flaky scales under his pale green eyes gave an old and wrinkled appearance. Covered in scales of a faded tint, once vibrant turquoise and green, the beast, a dragon, reached a stubbed, brown claw to scratch behind a crumbled horn. The warm, crimson gas that resided within the nest reflected on its body, battered by the destruction of forgotten glories and battles. Ripped and dry, like sandpaper to the touch, the creature's wings tucked close to his thin sides.

Known to many as a Monstrous Nightmare, the elderly beast was probably something to behold, back in his prime. He turned his droopy head, held up by a sagging, long neck that dipped in the middle, and directed his keen attention so it settled on their Queen.

There she sat, proudly surrounded by her fellow dragon-kind. To her, especially by magnitude, they were small and minor, but she treated them no lower than she would another of her species.

Thick stalagmites, that were only spines down her neck, back and tail, were a deep blue. Down her broad shoulders, sides, and legs, it slimmed to a lighter shade that blended into a greyish tone, and her specific breed was given their name, as 'Red' Deaths, due to the menacing, sharp red spikes that adorned their thick hide. In contrast, her armoured underbelly stood a faded, seething orange-red not unlike the mist in the cavern. Four muscular legs with clawed paws were guaranteed a lethal swipe, and her jaws held dozens of serrated teeth to chew and shred. Six bright blue eyes radiated intricate vision, but, they were kind as they swept over the dragons of her mighty, cosy nest. Her two wide nostrils flared, taking in another drift of wind, heavy with the presence of the nearby inhabitants of wooden vessels on the vast sea.

The Red Death turned to her subjects, projecting her booming voice out to cavern's depths. ' _Then, indeed, we shall look further into these new creatures' motives. If they are a sentient and friendly race, then let our kinds bond in friendship and unity._ ' She paused, letting the dragons murmur their consent. However, her next, more savage words brought a wave of growls and almost excited snarls, affirmative bellows that sounded for miles outside the nest.

' _And if not, we shall descend upon them with fangs, claws and fire before they can amass in numbers, and fill the skies with the blood of our enemies, and the clouds we shall make from smoke!_ '

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-oO

 _A dark night,_

 _One sure to have wrought only failure and pain._

 _But instead a harmony born_

 _Between man and dragon._

 _For one Night settled his Fury to trust their beloved Chief_

 _The first of his name, the first of the Haddocks._

 _Together,_

 _They brought a short but true prosperity_

 _One that would not yet again emerge for o'er three centuries._

 _For within her nest,_

 _A forbidden love would spark_

 _Catching alight under the talons of a Red Death and a lone Skulblaka_

 _And one scarlet egg would be laid._

 _All seemed right, the darkness concealed_

 _Never to be known._

 _Until strife broke out, between Shur'tugal and Skulblaka;_

 _Savage soul emerging,_

 _The man did take the Chief's wife, unaware of his crime._

 _And only heartache tore out._

 _Draconians enraged,_

 _Vikings betrayed,_

 _Dragons seeking vengeance._

 _And thus, the Skulblaka and his Shur'tugal did be slaughtered,_

 _And the Night Fury and her Chief attempted to slay the now furious Red Queen._

 _No light broke through_

 _The Fury descending on the man by Red hatred,_

 _Slaying the one the Night swore to love,_

 _And a long-to-be war came down on both Descendants and Vikings._

 _Rider and Chieftess' bastard bonding to forbidden Skulblaka,_

 _Upon which the Red Queen did deny._

 _She descended with fire and fury, and the bastard was no more._

 _And yet, mother's backstabbing kindness branded on the betrayed Dragoness,_

 _So, the daughter proceeded to enslave the Red Death._

 _Bent under will and control,_

 _Only one of the Furious could she hide,_

 _In the glimmer of hope he would find his boy in the years to come._

 _For great pain and tragedy would soon be set to strike,_

 _And man, and dragon, doomed to tilt their heads to the crimson skies,_

 _And cry out;_

' _Oh, who remains to save us?"_

 _ **For in three hundred years,**_

 _ **On the darkest night, the stars, may they align to their will.**_

 _ **It is to be that after the bloodiest battle,**_

 _ **The Fury of the Night would once again bond to a runt**_

 _ **Of who would become Midgard's saviour.**_

 _ **Of great feats,**_

 _ **Should they achieve?**_

 _ **Dragon and Man alike shall pray,**_

 _ **Upon that they will free them from the Scarlet Queen…**_

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

 _ **[Approximately 2457_D.]**_

The man snorted, and rigid with irritation, pushed aside a branch in his path. "I told you, Valka, this is _pointless_. It'll probably never hatch!"

The auburn-haired woman at the front of the group merely drew out a long, deep sigh.

"That's the sixth time you've said that today, Dennis. Give it up."

Dennis glared, and his hands on his dragon's saddle tightened. Below him, the lean, red-brown Desert Nightmare, Scorchflicker, gave a soft, warm huff that contrasted to the chilly air that made up the forest fog.

To their left, walked a long, rainbow serpent, bands of colour shining in the moonlight's rays, a woman perched on its neck, peering through the thick mist. At the lead was Valka, riding upon her ever faithful and majestic Stormcutter, a magnificent creature of brown-red, and streaks of youthful blue, Cloudjumper. Another followed shortly in the rear, a muscular and drearily painted Snafflefang, and despite having a similar colour pallet, the dragon wore the look like Cloudjumper's far from brilliantly, instead having an overall unappealing blend of greys, browns, and faded blues. Its piercing green eyes, however, watched their surroundings far more accurately than even a hawk's gaze.

The woman, riding the long serpent, the Breathquencher, sighed, impatient. Her feet tapped the scales of the dragon quietly. "How long until we can stop and rest?" She glanced at the serpent-like creature. "Em… Prism's getting tired…"

"Yeah right," Dennis mused, blowing a strand of his dark russet hair away, "Anyone can see through your lies, Lily. _Give it up_."

'Oh dear,' Muttered Cloudjumper to his fellow fire-breathers, despite their carried mounts unable to hear them. 'It seems like ol' Den is learning from my partner-of-heart-and-soul. He's even using her signature quotes!' The Stormcutter rumbled a form of laughter chorused by the other dragons. They listened attentively as the humans bickered among themselves, Valka just watching with a small, fond smile. Ah, yes, she had always been quiet, Cloudjumper would tell them.

The dragons and riders only stopped for refreshing themselves, resting and to check their position.

They walked more than they did fly, for the winds were harsh and unforgiving, the skies treacherous and hostile, as if mother nature herself wished for their failure. Snow and storms seemed to wreak havoc constantly, all over the Nordic Archipelagos.

It was like this would they continue, in Valka's lap a golden chest, wrapped in protective black fabric.

Within it held such precious cargo; a smooth, shiny, single dragon egg as black as night.

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

 **[Approximately 2462_D (Hiccup is approx.4yrs old) ]**

Thunder clapped in the distance, rattling his mind to the very core. Shivers ran down his spine, for both fear that had crept within him, and the coldness of winter that clawed at him from the outside.

Hiccup, small and frail in the harsh wilderness, alone in the dead of night, whimpered.

The small child shrank, cowered within the nook of a cave he had crawled in, watching with wide eyes as thunder rolled and rain poured. Awful, simply terrible streaks of blue lightning occasionally struck, and one or two even hit nearby, creating an upheaval of terrifying sparks and embers, leaving charred patches in its absence.

"D…Daddy…" He whimpered, big, fat tears glazing his vision, rolling down his cheeks. He sniffled, for the first time noticing how salty tears tasted, which made him pause, before sobs broke out again.

"DADDY!"

And a flash of lightning struck, also illuminating the huge, looming figure of a dragon, perched on a rock outcropping that overlooked the forest from a higher point. With narrow slits, its blood red gaze swept over the trees, large nostrils that were each the size of Hiccup's little fist alone, twitching. It was indeed a cold night, but what came out its teeth when it took a deep exhale was not vapour, but green smoke that ignored the falling rain, lit up in the darkness as it curled past his black scales, shying away from the ivory horn on his nose.

It then gave a deep growl, sighting something in the smallest hiding spot of a cave… Small… Petrified… _Alive_ …

Without needing to turn his head or eyes, the dragon tapped the mind of its companion a dark, bulky, and armoured man nestled between the beast's neck and shoulders, sat in a saddle- and hissed, menacingly, lowly. _That runt shouldn't be alive. Why?_

The man grumbled. _Don't ask me. Ask the Red Death. She's supposed to keep them all dead._

 _Well, this one apparently ISN'T. And surely, we can't just let it live._

There was a pregnant pause, a silence that reeked with the essence of uncertainty. _Should_ they, though? _Could_ they?

Snorting, the ebony creature grunted and set his mind straight. _Come ON, you featherbrained chicken,_ The dragon snarled, slapping its long, wet tail on the stone. _Let's just kill it and be done with it! See? Simple, easy, and no complications required._ It bent its gnarled knees, spreading wings that were each almost as long as his whole body. The sharp tips, blood red from underneath, brushed past trees and sharp branches, offering what earth it overshadowed a very brief moment of dryness.

The enormous dragon sprang into the stormy skies, pushing the air underneath its wings down into the ground and vegetation.

It circled around, opening its jaws to shriek, preparing to thrust its talons open and dive down to snatch the small, hidden child- when suddenly, a loud, echoing dragon roar took control of the sounds in the sky, a cry so haunting and eerie even he, Deathstar, took a moment to shudder. 

_Was that a Night Fury?_ Drago asked gruffly, following his partner's gaze to where the sound had come from.

 _Must have been…_ Deathstar rumbled.

 _And I bet it had to have been a big one, too. Big Night Fury means lots of Furies._

Giving a deep, rumbling grunt, the huge Skulblaka took a sharp turn. _Then,_ He growled, _They can eat that pathetic wimp alive, won't they?_

 _You're just saying that so we don't have to explain to Scarlet why he's alive._

He snorted. _Maybe…_

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

 **[Approx. 2500_D: Flashback]**

" _Oh, the gods hate me. Some people might lose their knife, or their mug, but no, not me, I manage to lose an_ entire DRAGON _?!"_

 _ **You say, they hate you**_ **.**

 _Hiccup smacked a branch out the way, only for it to strike back like a boomerang. He saw the trench left in the wake of what he presumed was something big, the tree bent in an odd angle and splintered, shattered._

 _ **They only ever try to take you down;**_

 _Green eyes met green, one of a narrow pupil and another of a frightened desire. For recognition, for change._

 _ **They only ever think of themselves, and what they see as the good.**_

 _The dragon could beg, he could try, and pray, and plead. This was his doom and his fate. A fallen dragon, a dead dragon- where was the difference?_

 _ **And never could it change, it seemed.**_

 _The Night Fury let his head fall, heart slow. His fate befalling upon him like the ending of the last Alpha of his species, over two thousand and a half years ago, he was a victim of misunderstanding and foolish dreams._

 _ **So, what do you do when they lower their sword?**_

 _Hiccup let the knife fall on his own head, dragging it down as he glanced at it, feeling nothing but drained. He eyed the fallen beast before him, the one who he should have killed. He didn't have a valid excuse. Why didn't he kill the dreaded Night Fury? The renowned 'unholy offspring of lightning and death_ itself' _? Piles upon mounds of praise he could receive from a single dragon's heart, more fame, than even his father?_

 _ **And if they dare to defy the expectations,**_

 _His dagger sawed through the ropes, one by one, each snap causing a pound of his terrified heart._

 _ **If sweet revenge opens its wings,**_

 _The Night Fury shrieked, and pounced, claws pinning the skinny two-leg hatchling to the rock. His eyes bore into the not-so-much Viking's soul, a rush of vigorous adrenaline and hate searing in his veins._

 _ **And like a gentle breeze it could be ridden without effort,**_

 _Did he want to kill the one, the only one, to spare him mercy? Was this how he should repay him?_

 _ **Should it be taken?**_

 _No._

 _ **There's no turning back, no denying, you've found something worth saving.**_

 _With a roar and a single pang in his heart, the lithe dragon leaped away, furiously trying to fly, to gain altitude in the sky. He crashed into both tree and stone, his mind spinning into both madness and grief. He came down with a heavy splash into the lake below, the water roaring in his ears, stinging his eyes, but in turn, it also washed his dusty scales and cleared them of filth and grime. His tail burned with a million fires, agony a constant, pounding presence._

 _ **So don't forget it.**_

 _The boy threw in a slimy, silver fish, ducked behind the shield he had brought. When it did not budge to join him on his quest, he sighed, gave it one last feeble tug, and picked up the fish once more, slowly, carefully, advancing._

 _ **Let it become a memory so vivid, until it lays right before your eyes.**_

 _Boy watched dragon, as the creature slinked down to inspect him._

 _ **Watch for the signs of the different, of change, no matter what they may be.**_

 _Before long, his attention landed on the fish, and he sniffed hungrily, longing for something to fuel the fire in his belly._

 _ **Take them-**_

" _Toothless? Huh… Could have sworn you had-" Suddenly, the dragon's head snaked forward, teeth emerging with a defining_ shink _, and the fish soon slid down his throat._

 _ **-But not without thought.**_

 _Licking his jaws, he rumbled, and saw once more the boy, but only now saw his small frame, and most importantly, the_ kindness _and the_ gift _that had been offered._

 _ **And be sure to share, to show it is not a one-sided deceit.**_

 _Hiccup observed, disgusted, as the dragon regurgitated something rather revolting- the head of the previously eaten fish. And the dragon wanted him to eat it. He only did so reluctantly, but, in the wake of disgust and new-found nausea, he cracked out an awkward smile._

 _ **See how light shines in all.**_

 _And it was then that the dragon saw a true heart within a human, for the very first time. He sheathed his teeth, lifted his pink gums, curving the ends of his mouth upwards._

 _The Viking's face contorted in sheer wonder, interested, perhaps confused. He reached up a hand cautiously…_

 _ **Be warned of those who rush,**_

No! Not yet. _The dragon- now named Toothless- scurried away with a snarl._

 _ **But give them another chance.**_

 _Boy and dragon spent the evening together, and as they watched each other, silently learned that everything they knew, was wrong._

 _ **And perhaps, something can be found.**_

 _Silent, drawing in a shaken, trembling breath, Hiccup extended his open hand._

 _ **Perhaps, a forbidden friendship.**_

 _And in that magical moment, as he closed his eyes and pressed his snout into the small Viking's palm, Toothless suddenly knew- he knew who this boy was, who he was to him, just what he was._

 _Who_ he _was._

 _ **Find what is wrong, behold what is right-**_

 _ **And choose what is your path.**_

 _ **Mend the broken and heal the wounds,**_

 _ **And fight like there's no tomorrow;**_

 _ **For every unassuming breath, could be your last.**_

" _Okay, Bud, time to disappear!"_

 _Toothless gave a shake and a snort, and angled his wings upwards, swooping up high with the cold clouds sweeping over his scales. The Red Death flew not far behind, chomping her gargantuan jaws, roaring, as she spewed flames, formed from wrath._

 _ **But maybe you never realised,**_

 _ **Just what was wrong.**_

 _ **Don't let the strongest memories fade,**_

 _ **For you never know**_

 _ **When they might come right back-**_

 _The two dragons let out simultaneous shrieks, the much smaller Night Fury streaking past the beast's snout, taunting it as he descended into a steep, one-way dive._

 _ **-And only from the slightest difference, or a single word,**_

 _ **Everything can change,**_

 _ **For change, is a friend and a foe.**_

" _Turns out, all we needed was a little more of…_ This _." The Chief beamed as Hiccup smiled, and watched fondly as the Blacksmith, Gobber, handed his apprentice the saddle and red-and-white-skull prosthetic of the now revered Night Fury, a beast no longer feared. One shouted a cry, a joke, which was once one of fear, as the dragon, Toothless, hurtled out the house, jumping on two unfortunate Vikings as he gave a happy warble, eyeing his beloved partner._

 _ **And from the ashes of what was forgotten, let a new age be born;**_

 _Wings of dragons that covered the earth spread, the sound of harmony thick in the air. Peace found in the darkest corners of war, the unlikely now heroes._

 _It would be known for all of time that this would be the turning point for all of Midgard, where man and dragon co-existed together, that Dragon Riders weren't going to hide any longer._

 _ **For training a dragon, was never a feat to be ignored.**_

 _[Years later, the 'Present']_

"Hmm…" The man paused, his ebony wings fluttering. He glanced back behind him, wind hitting the side of his head and right wing. Spotting the huge, glittering dragon, with hard scales like black jewels, and piercing green eyes as bright and sparkly as emeralds, that had swooped in with a defining thud, his talons clicking on the white stone of the balcony, he smiled, and then gestured to his latest creation.

The Skulblaka gave a rumbling chortle, quickly hearing what he had written from his companion's thoughts.

Amused, the man sighed, but grinned.

Hiccup quickly switched to a telepathic link, leaning back in his chair. _Too dramatic?_

 _Maybe a little…_ Toothless padded over, and as his rider held up the parchment, he sniffed the fresh, glittering, shimmery black ink. _But it sure does make me sound like a very smart dragon with a wonderful sense of taste, no?_

 _Oh, shush, Mr. Ego. We get enough of that crap from Snotlout and Hookfang._

The dragon gave a short bark of amusement, and with the tip of a giant wing, slipped it under the belly strap of his saddle, pulling it off the hook. _Well,_ the Night Fury rumbled, scratching behind a scaly ear plate with an ivory talon, that had to at least be a foot in length _. Speaking of those two featherbrained fools,_ _I hope you're hungry. Just passed by Alumus, apparently, there's another banquet tonight. And if I'm correct, that means bacon. I like bacon…_

Hiccup, Captain, Dragon Rider and Shur'tugal of the Draconians, chuckled, and stood, moving to get dressed for the evening.

Toothless watched, rambling on about all types of meat and mead, while Hiccup donned a dark blue shirt and black pants, before throwing on a black cloak, lined with elegant patterns of gold and silver, straightening the emerald-studded collar before strapping on his dragon's sleek black and gold saddle. As he jumped from the dragon's ankle to elbow to finally reach the high placed saddle- Toothless had to be at least thirty feet tall now to the head, and twenty to the shoulder- the man grabbed his boots to put on while they rode. As a final addition, he flourished his dragon with two plain gold bands around his neck, one around his left horn, and with a snort of amusement, he slipped on the gold armlet, centred with a round sphere of Midnight Emerald, that Loki had left with him so many years ago.

And with a ferocious, echoing roar that shook the air, and a leap of power that made the earth tremble, Toothless took flight, leaving in he and his bonded rider's wake, the glory of a Viking and his Night Fury, and, resting alone and seemingly innocently, written on a single piece of paper, just how to train your dragon…

 **Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo**

 **Author's Note/AN** _ **:**_

 **First things first- A very lovely shoutout to the amazing NatBlake, who's been a simply AWESOME help to this story. He's amazing. Thank you NatBlake! :D**

 **Okeydokey, I'll try and make this quick. Also, it'll be one of the (hopefully) few AN's you'll see in this REWRITE of 'This Is War'.**

… **Yup. That's basically the only way- oh, wait, nope.**

 **(Literal, like, it's from a dictionary)**

 **Definition:** _ **An instance of writing something again so as to alter or improve it.**_

 **Okay. I really, really don't know how else I can explain it. It's a re-write.**

 **A few things to say-**

 **-Here's what'll happen with the original story. It'll stay up, labelled as** _ **This Is War (Old/First Edition, Discontinued)**_ **and anyone can read it.**

 **-Expect a hopefully better TIW in this, where my grammar isn't dragonsh- dragon** _ **crap**_ **(what? This chappy isn't supposed to have any swear words!) and the plot is slightly faster and twisty… Indeed. There shall be a massacre of twists. *evil smile***

 **Well, thank you for reading, if you're there. It means a lot, honestly. I know that I probably won't even get half of my original followers here, but hey, one is better than none. ;)**

 **DRAGONITES UNITE!**

 **-Crystallion12**


	2. Part 1, Chapter 1- A Split Arrow

**T** **his is Wa** **r**

 **'A** **How To Train Your Dragon Fanfictio** **n'**

 **-Rated T- Genres Adventure/Fantasy-**

 **-** _ **Rewrite.**_

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own HttyD. Rights go to Respective Owners.** __

 _ **Warning: Some violence and blood/gore in this chapter. Viewer Discretion advised.**_

 **X-x-X**

 **Part One: The Night Fury and his Rider**

 **X-x-X**

 **Chapter 01: A Split Arrow**

 **Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo**

 _Like a broken arrow,_

 _Paths in life shall never fly true._

 _As fate passes by you anew,_

 _It is as clear as the truth is narrow,_

 _And all that can be done is see if it'll strike the bullseye_

 _Like a dragon's hope for mercy when it dares cry._

 _For a broken arrow,_

 _Will never fly true._

 **Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo**

 **[Approx. 2478_D, May 26** **th** **, Morning.]**

'Why would a Bewilderbeast attack… Like _this_?'

Toothless' ear plates perked. He turned his gaze slightly, looking at the equally unnerved Deadly Nadder behind him. If the charred, ashen forests that were devastatingly withered weren't creepy or haunting enough, now they stared at the outcome of an Alpha Species' unrelenting wrath.

Hiccup's body was giving off slight shivers, and Toothless couldn't blame him. Astrid couldn't take away the worried, confused frown off her features.

There wasn't any mistaking.

As their riders directed them towards the destroyed fort, trapped in giant spikes of turquoise ice, it was clear that a Bewilderbeast- and if they were right, the Alpha himself- had launched a brutal, lethal assault on the base. _But why?_ Toothless asked himself in silence, listening to his rider's voiced thoughts.

"What happened here? Just… How… What could have done this? _Why_?"

Astrid's tongue wouldn't click. She swallowed, trying to say something, but she just couldn't find an answer. She must have seen something, and hissed his name. Hiccup turned to look, just as a man shouted 'fire!'.

Hiccup's mind was rushing- and his heart skipped a beat, as suddenly, the whizzing of a bola cutting through the air rang in his ears. He shouted over the wind, pulling Toothless backwards to dodge as he held on tightly. Whipping his head around, he watched in horror as Stormfly went down, a net tightly binding her, Astrid falling quickly out of control. Toothless shot down, swiftly grabbing the shield maiden in his talons, flapping upwards, circling around.

The heir looked to Astrid, and she gave him a shaky nod, no words needed as Toothless shrieked, flying back down to their attackers. "STOP!"

"What are you doing!?" Astrid cried.

A group of men were attempting to bind Stormfly, wrapping her legs and pinning her tail- one in particular had a rope tied around the Nadder's head, and he wore an expression of wonder and betrayed fear as Toothless landed with a snarl, setting Astrid down as she shouted for her companion, who gave a pained, miserable whine.

"Stormfly!"

Hiccup swung off, taking his Dragon Blade, Inferno, and setting it alight with a _whoosh_ of bright flames. The heat reflected on him, but he had grown used to it long ago.

Glancing at Astrid, he could see she was quite angry judging by the way she glared, and gripped tightly on a stick she picked up for a make-shift weapon.

Meanwhile, Hiccup turned to also give a pointed look at the man who appeared to be the leader. He was smirking, a look of amazement on his face. "Back again, Rider?" He paused, and averted his gaze to eye Toothless, who was hissing.

"Soil my britches… So it _is_ a Night Fury."

Hiccup frowned, something stirring from within him- recognition? He glanced at Toothless, and shuddered. Maybe he hadn't met these men before, but he wasn't so sure about his dragon. They were deadly thin pupils against illuminated green that seemed to radiate only rage and loathing, a look thatcould make even his father tremble, he reckoned, and the men seemed no different.

One of the Trappers whimpered, cowering, his grip on his weapon constricting as he muttered to the leader. "The Traitor ain't gonna like this…" The leader growled, hitting his shoulder, stepping a boot on Stormfly's horn.

"No, he won't." He pointed the tip of his sword at the two riders and the Night Fury. "How are you even alive?"

The Vikings shared a confused glance, and Hiccup held up his hands slowly.

"Look, we've never met…"

The man laughed curtly. " _Never met_? Very well. You may have 'never' graced us with your awful presence before, _DragonBorn_ , but I'll tell you this. Dragon Trapping is hard enough work as it is, without do-gooder dragon riders sneaking in to rescue them!"

Toothless stiffened, his gaze locking onto Hiccup's.

Ultimately, he appeared just as confused as a stranger would. He retracted in his sword as he spoke, stunned. "What do-gooder… There are _other_ dragon riders?"

"Ha. Other than the obvious, and your thieving buddy from last night? Why don't you tell me. I'm sure you've got some connection with those blasted Draconians." He didn't falter at their baffled expressions, although the Nadder and Fury gave small whines. This wasn't any information that should be freely exposed, especially to their precious riders. "You may have a Bewilderbeast on your side, but we still have a quota to fill. How do you think we explain this mess to Lord Drago Bludvist?"

"Lord Drago _what-fist_?" Hiccup stared. "Does _anything_ you say make sense?"

One of the trappers sneered, rolling his shoulder. "The Queen is expecting a new shipment of dragons for their army by tomorrow."

Another huffed and spoke in his whiney voice, as the leader nodded slightly at their acclamations. "And she don't take well to excuses. We've already lost over a dozen to her wrath!"

They nodded, mumbling among themselves. " _This_ is what she had the Traitor give me last time I showed up empty-handed-" The leader growled, eyes dark as he pulled his shirt to the sides of his chest, revealing an angry, bright red scar- a branding scar. It sent chills down their spines, making them pull back, disgusted, "-And they promised to be far less understanding in the future."

Hiccup chose his words carefully, trying to ignore the little voice in the back of his head that kept saying he knew these Trappers from somewhere.

"Look, we don't know anything about a dragon thief, or a 'Bewilderbeast'," Eret nodded to hidden trappers, who aimed their crossbows. "Or your lunatic… Queen, and this… Traitor-fist guy and their dragon army. Just give us back _our_ dragon and we'll go, strange, hostile person whom we've _never_ met."

He chuckled darkly. "Oh, where are my manners?" He made a mocking bow, and drew a short, curved sword at the same time. "I'm Eret, son of Eret. Finest dragon trapper alive."

Toothless growled, and Hiccup's fist clenched.

"After all… It's not just anyone who can capture the Ancestral Night Fury and his precious _DragonBorn_."

Rigid, the Night Fury roared, trying to dim out the last half of the man's words. Hiccup just glared, and smirked, gesturing to his best friend. "No, it's Toothless. And, he says we're going. Now."

Eret laughed. "Oh, you know _nothing_. And, all dragons say that… RUSH 'EM, LADS!"

Toothless gave a shriek, hidden trappers pouncing from the shadows. He blasted with his fire at a thick, sharp spike of ice above them, precisely gaining the upper hand as it came crashing down, forcing the men to leap and duck out the way, less they die. Hiccup sprang forward, slashing the ropes with his fiery sword. Astrid followed quickly, shouting at Stormfly to go. Hearts pounding,the dragons ran- they had already heard too much **-** and quickly took off as soon as their riders clambered on.

"YOU WILL _NEVER_ HOLD ON TO THOSE DRAGONS, RIDERS, YOU HEAR ME!? THE SCARLET QUEEN IS COMING TO TAKE THEM ALL! BE WARNED, _DRAGONBORN_ , FOR SHE _WILL_ KILL YOU ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

Hiccup shuddered, and abruptly, an intense pain erupted in his arm, the sound of fabric tearing in his ears. He yelped, the action resulting with Toothless slightly swerving sideways with a roar. The Night Fury sped up, and glanced back, worriedly looking at his partner. Hiccup hissed in pain, glaring at where the arrow had lodged itself in his arm. It burned with pain, a searing agony. He shook his head, trying to ignore the wound, and flew Toothless onward.

"Hiccup?" Astrid turned in the saddle, gasping as she saw him. "Hiccup! You got s-"

"Yes, Astrid. I'm aware. _Painfully_ aware… Agh… Gods…" He groaned, trying to take out his pain by squeezing his thighs to the saddle, as if he could transfer his suffering to the leather.

Toothless whined, looking at him anxiously, setting a dead course for Berk. He warbled to the bruised Nadder flying abreast from the lithe dragon, and she nodded, giving a screech before she pumped her wings sturdily, trying to accelerate their return. The heir lightly patted his companion's thick neck, murmuring a word of appreciation.

He gave a trembling sigh.

Looked like another chaotic drama was on the horizon…

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

 _A hoarse, pained and angry shout escaped his lips. Beneath him, his dragon howled loudly, and struggled to level off in the smoke-filled skies. Embers glowed in the night like burning stars, pillars of green and red fumes rising from the ground and the village._

 _Both dragon and rider narrowed their eyes, and the Humanblaka showed his companion the arrow residing in his shoulder through his mind._

They are going to _pay_ for that… _The dragon seemed to… Say?_

 _He frowned, or, at least, the Hiccup that wasn't in the dream did. Like he was torn between worlds, Hiccup was confused at the voice, but like everything else, the Hiccup in the_ scene _didn't react at all- he knew what it all was._

 _If only someone could explain…_

 _The Night Fury screeched, loud and shrill, and the shockingly ginormous dragon steered upwards, pounding his wings in the foul air. Hiccup made a silent, apparently non-existing gasp as the shouts and panicked screams sounding below, became recognisable._

 _They were attacking_ Berk?!

 _He wanted to yell at Toothless, this strange Toothless, to stop._

 _But it never came out, and the only emotion he could see in the dark, cold emerald orbs of Hiccup's eyes behind the mask was slight pity, perhaps a scintilla of remorse or regret._

 _Somewhere in the background, he shuddered, for a massive chain of bright green lightning spotlighted in the sky with a booming clap, illuminating the giant dragon's figure behind the smoke in a terrifying, thundering image._

 _Toothless let out his signature banshee-like shriek, wheeling around, and a terrible build-up of plasma rose in his throat, before the bright flash of awful blue fire erupted from his mouth._

 _He watched in horror, as it flew over the burning village they had once called home, but never missed- it then struck its target, the mountain that stood in Berk's heart. It was a sickening sight, the blue explosion tremendous, and it tore a huge chunk out the towering hill of rock, as burning boulders crumbled and descended upon the village, the whole island shaking at the impact._

 _Hiccup's heart was screaming, yet, the man riding upon Toothless seemed to spare not a single care._

 _He did not cheer or congratulate the large beast he was mounted upon, instead bending down for less air resistance as the lithe, muscular black creature dove, truly revealing how massive he was when he spread his wings. Toothless screeched once more, a deep hissing in his throat, and flickering, lighter blue flames spewed out the edges of his mouth, before the shocking realisation was made. The Night Fury opened his jaws wide, and from his maw emerged a jet of bright, haunting, icy blue flames, like that of perhaps a Red Death. He strafed down the village square, leaving in his wake a path of devastation, ignoring the shouts, and screams of the villagers, before shooting up again, even faster than the non-existent Hiccup knew now._

I think that's enough, Deathdoom, _The man suddenly spoke, but his lips did not move. The giant, glittering, gore-splattered dragon gave a rumble of consent, slowing down in the air for his rider. Hiccup huffed as the Night Fury released a plasma blast above the village for emphasis of their victory._ I think we've shown our point.

Fair enough, Little One. _The dragon growled, looking down at the wreck beneath them._

 _They glanced at one another, the dragon turning his head slightly to the left to look at him out the corner of one green eye._ Shall we pose our conditions?

No. _Hiccup swore, that, well, the man under the mask- who he really wished wasn't most certainly himself- smirked._ Let's give them some… Time, to consider their defeat. Circle the village, and alert me if anything changes. I need to pee.

Wow. _Great_ timing.

 _The Rider chuckling lowly, all a broken, somehow non-existent Hiccup could do was watch as the man stood in the saddle, two large black wings unfurling from his back, patting the scaly beast beneath him with a tail from behind a leg. Personally, 'non-existent Hiccup' was absolutely disgusted and shocked to witness a joke so casually stated in such a dreadful situation. If only they felt the same…_

 _Roaring threateningly, the winged Dragon Rider leaped off his companion, flying away into the night, riding tainted air conquered by blood and smoke._

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

 **[Approx. 2478_D, May 26** **th** **, Night.]**

"Hiccup! Son, wake up… It's just a dream…"

Stoick watched his son helplessly, the young man in his arms and resting- not so peacefully, either- in his lap.

The Chief sighed, feeling as if the blasted gods had forsaken them, resting the Nine Realms solely on his shoulders, and heck, were they heavy.

The memory of the morning kept re-playing vividly in his troubled mind. The mortification and chilling fear as he saw them land, Astrid on the verge of crying, Hiccup limp and bleeding upon his dragon's back…

 _Stoick manoeuvred through the crowd, spouting jovial greetings in passing._ " _Hey, how are you? Beautiful day."_

 _Stoick then grinned, looking at Spitelout, who seemed grumpier than usual, and that made sense. "Hello, Spitelout, great game today!" And he got a muttered grunt in response, gathering a chuckle from him, until he nearly bumped into another villager, holding a baby Gronckle in her arms._

 _"Oh, sorry, Mrs. Ack- oh! And little Goop."_

 _He ducked his head, walking into the Great Forge. He looked to Gobber. "Any sign of him?"_

" _Ah, he's probably flown off the edge of the world by now."_

 _Gobber hammered a tooth into a blue Zippleback's mouth, the head itself looking rather nervous, while its counterpart just watched with a grateful smile. Stoick smiled softly at the sight, fond of all his subjects, both dragon and viking, on his island. The blacksmith looked at him. "You sure you want that kid runnin' the village? You can still delay your retirement."_

" _He's ready, you'll see." Stoick beamed, then paused, hearing the roar of a familiar Deadly Nadder. He looked up, seeing Stormfly flying close beside Toothless, his son's faithful Night Fury, whom was like a second son to him._

 _Opening his mouth to speak, something faltered in his voice. As if on instinct, he looked to the other part of the 'gang', as Hiccup called his odd but wonderful friends. Snotlout Jorgenson, his cousin, Fishlegs, the Ingerman boy and resident Dragon Expert, and the Thorston twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, with their respective dragons- Snotlout's Monstrous Nightmare, Hookfang, Fishlegs' Gronckle, Meatlug, and the twins' Hideous Zippleback, Barf and Belch. And he, unfortunately, knew the expressions that they all wore, standing around in the plaza. As a family like group, they knew each other smoothly, and were also very swift to spot when something was wrong._

 _Without a word, the four riders climbed onto their dragons, taking flight and making a straight bee-line for the Nadder and Fury. The two dragons seemed worried, closer now, the latter almost flying flimsily. The five dragons all gave worried cries, and that cemented the fact._

" _Hiccup…" Stoick mumbled, and the Chief pushed his way through the crowd, watching in dread as the group aided the Night Fury to land. For a moment, Stoick feared Toothless had been wounded, and hoped it was just something amiss with his equipment. This worry then did a double take, and intensified, seeing it was not the connecting rod, the tail fin, or even the saddle that was damaged, but the controller- the rider._

 _His son._

" _Hiccup!" He rushed forward, just as the heir gave a whine of pain, and accidentally rolled off his saddle. His friends began to move, obviously fretting for their beloved leader, but their Chief was faster._

 _Catching the youth, his heart thumped in his chest rapidly, as he saw the shaft of the arrow sticking out from his child's shoulder._

 _He stammered for a minute, the sound of the villagers mumbling and crooning in worry, loud in his ears. Finally, he gathered his bearings, whipping his gaze around to look at Snotlout._

" _Snotlout! Tell Gothi Hiccup was shot by an arrow in the arm, we'll be there in a minute! Go!" The stocky rider nodded, already heading out, jumping onto Hookfang's neck as the dragon took a running start to fly, the villagers quickly making way._

 _Stoick looked back down at his son, shaking, and whimpering in his arms, cold to the touch. At least he had that armour to keep him warm. He looked around, feeling some-what daft or faint. "Skullcrusher!" He called, and the Rumblehorn obediently emerged, fast to understand the dire situation. He aided his partner onto his back, giving the son of his rider a gentle, worrisome nuzzle before spreading his wings._

 _Toothless watched in anguish, knowing he couldn't fly on his own, so he simply broke into a run to make his way to the Elder's hut, for once, sucking up his pride, and praying to every higher force that his precious Hiccup would be okay…_

And now, Toothless was almost a mirrored image. He watched with grievous eyes, whining softly on occasion, and helplessly nudging his rider's stiff, trembling side.

"I know, Toothless… I know…"

It was then that the young man awoke, moaning softly, eyelids fluttering weakly. "Dad… Berk… Danger…" Stoick immediately quietened his voice, hushing him gently as he stroked a strand of auburn hair behind his ear. Blurry and exhausted eyes met his, and he smiled a little, albeit sadly, humming softly to his one and only child.

"I know, son… Astrid told me… Shh…"

Hiccup whimpered, clearly still at unease, and wishing he could tell him all about that horrid, simply awful nightmare. It didn't feel right, and unlike usual dreams, he remembered it far too accurately, instead of forgetting all the (usually) blurry mess within ten minutes. With a whine, the young man looked around a little, dizzy, his head starting to ache horribly with confusion as he realised he was in the Dragon Hanger, in his father's arms beside Toothless in his dragon's stall.

He tried remembering how he got here, but soon figured out, despite his fatigue, that he would have been out cold and brought there.

"Shhh… Rest… You're safe here… It'll be okay, son…"

He wanted to agree with his father, if only the shrieks of a giant Night Fury and a heartless, older version of himself didn't plague his thoughts.

But, the temptation of sleep was far too strong, drawing him inwards and within its steely grasp before the rider could even tell his father how he feared thatToothless, and _himself_ were to be the enemy.

And if they were, then Berk would be doomed to suffer and perish in icy flames…

But _why_?

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

 **[Approx. 2478_D, May 26** **th** **, Night.]**

A voice, somewhat weary and aged, was what roused Hiccup from his dream-less slumber. He moaned, his eyes tiredly opening. Beside him, he could feel that Toothless was also awake, rumbling softly in what sounded like acknowledgement. For a while, he blinked, staring at Gothi, figuring she would be here to tend to his injury, but he then realised she had already done so- rather silently, in that case- and she yet remained. His father wasn't holding him anymore, having gone off somewhere, leaving him beside his dragon, wrapped in blankets snugly.

"Wake up, Dragon Rider…"

He blinked, yawning. He looked around, searching for the source, before suddenly, Gothi lightly whacked his foot with her staff, drawing his attention to her, just as she, for the first time since he was born (or, as far as he was aware), spoke.

She eyed him and Toothless. "You must leave Berk…" The elderly woman only paused for a brief second. "You must. Drago and Deathstar will not spare you again."

"W… Wha…? _What_? Gothi? You can _speak_?"

The elder rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath, before she lifted his chin with her staff, mumbling quietly, "Come on, get up, get up. No time to waste."

She ushered him onto his feet, and stumbling, he climbed onto Toothless' _bare_ back. He began to speak of it, but she pressed a wrinkly, thin finger to his lips, and gently, looped a red velvet leash around Toothless' neck, pulling the dragon along. He watched, trying to wrap his head around what was going on, as she led Toothless silently past the Dragon Stalls, occupied by the dragons and their riders. It was the dead of night, and Hiccup was cold. He shivered, clinging to the warmth of his best friend.

"Gothi… Where are… We going…"

She hushed him once more, and to their shock, she took them out the Hanger, leading them away from it, and through the village.

Only now, did Hiccup realise what had happened- his father had evacuated the village into the Hanger, the underground chambers. It felt like a dusty, abandoned ghost town, not a single light glowing from within the huts. Was this 'Drago Bludvist' and his Queen truly to be feared in such intensity?

He shuddered. He didn't like being in the open, knowing that everyone he held dear wasn't beside him. While usually the sounds of the night were comforting, now, they made him jump and whimper. The breeze was cold and abnormal, the chilly atmosphere bizarre, almost like it wasn't widespread. Eerie shrieks occasionally pierced the air, and Gothi would sometimes pause to stare at the night sky, her grey brows furrowed. She muttered some more dismissively.

She made no comments, and before long, they stood in her hut. She must have left swiftly, for objects were scattered and somewhat untidy.

Nodding to one of her many Terrible Terrors, who seemed to have awaited their arrival, she had her friend ignite a torch to light the room. They watched, confused, as she scuttled around, muttering, and clicking quietly to herself. Hiccup grew ever more restless, unsettled; one of the Terrors must have been staring at him from under her bed, because he did _not_ like that eerie feeling of being watched by an undetected presence, a sensation he currently had.

"Uh… Gothi…?"

She shook her head and kept scavenging, seemingly searching for something.

"Gothi?"

"Not now, Hiccup. I need to find that saddle, and that tail-fin for your Night Fury, and quick…"

He blinked. "What…?"

 _I swear, I'm just as confused as you are_. Toothless thought, and sighed to himself, dearly wishing Hiccup could hear him. At least the youth could figure out his body language, and he patted his neck a little as he slid off his back.

"Aha!"

She made a crooked smile, running a worn hand over a sheet of black velvet, concealing a lump tucked away under one of her many shelves. "There it is, the old…" Her expression dropped, and her eyes widened slightly as she hastily took away the sheet, abruptly alarmed, even more so than before.

Hiccup, lost in confusion, reached out his good hand, but she quickly swatted it away, and hurried to Toothless, throwing onto his back between the neck and shoulder blades a saddle, sleek and black, made of fine leather. Aside from the two straps to wrap around the dragon, there were two loose flaps of black leather where the legs (of a human) would hug Toothless, and each had two loops, or bands of leather, supposedly to secure the rider's legs.

They both came out with baffled, stunned noises, however the elderly woman heeded not, grabbing one of the two thick straps, and taking it up around the Night Fury's neck, clasping the buckle that appeared to be made of Gronckle Iron. She hastily did likewise for the one that wrapped around his stomach, just behind his shoulders and around the belly's girth.

"Get on, now!"

Hiccup whined softly, reluctant to do so. One, his shoulder hurt, two, Toothless was wearing none of his flying gear and just some plain, unusual new saddle, and three, well, _what_ in the Nine Realms was going _on_?

Prepared to simply get on after considering his options, Hiccup moved, but paused yet again. He could have sworn he heard some creaking of wood, a soft hiss, and haunting tapping from the roof.

He looked up, neglecting his paranoia after reasoning his mind was being rather cruel on him.

She glared, though, somehow more menacing- believe it or not- than even Astrid. He gulped, and grasped the semicircle handle acting as a saddle horn, swinging into the unacquainted place. It was comfortable, but very bizarre, uncomfortable in turn because of the absurdity. Toothless looked up at him with a soft snort, a million questions in his intelligent eyes. Hiccup wondered if his eyes were any different.

"Gothi? Please, can you just ex-"

He froze, as if ice had frozen his veins- hearing Gothi's scream, he whipped around to see a horrifying image. "GOTHI! NO!"

There it stood, gore dripping from its yellowed fangs, a large, murky brown-red dragon, a hissing menace of the Stoker Class- a vicious Typhoomerang. Gothi was gasping croakily, clutching her bleeding neck. The elderly woman screamed out something that sounded like 'go!'. He hesitated, tears stinging his eyes, and yelped as Toothless suddenly lurched forward, the unattended prosthetic hanging to the end of his tail.

Heart racing, Hiccup cried out in terror as the Night Fury charged headfirst, straight at the exit, but he must have forgotten something…

What was it? The simple fact that he couldn't fly.

The dragon shrieked as his rider shouted, his paws scrambling to get a decent grip on stone. They ultimately skidded down the mountain, the Night Fury doing his best to leap from ledge to ridge, Hiccup staring in fear at the armoured, scary dragons that were circling the mountain.

His eyes suddenly darted away, to meet the yellow pair of the savage Typhoomerang from before, who could have killed Gothi.

He- no, _it_ \- could have _murdered_ Gothi.

Rage boiled within him, but like rain to fire, it went up in a smokescreen of terror as the said beast bellowed with a roar and shot at them like a bullet, sparks flickering on the edges of its wings. "TOOTHLESS! HURRY! _HURRY_!"

Dragon roared and leapt, heart pounding and limbs on fire.

Rider screamed, the wind roaring in his ears.

Enemy shrieked, as its prey escaped its talons narrowly, oh so unfortunately.

Toothless came down to earth with a _thud_ , tumbling, using a paw to stop his breaking roll in fear he'd crush Hiccup and hurt him gravely. A piercing agony and a crack temporarily stole his focus, but he disregarded it in favour of getting out the confusing mess they were in alive.

Moaning in his throat, his head throbbing and limbs burning at the impact, he glanced at the young man hiding his face against his dark scales. Taking an affirmative for the go, the Night Fury got on his paws, glancing at his surroundings before launching into a run. It hurt abnormally, and that was all it truly took for the dragon to realise his paw- that he had landed on- had probably been broken. Uttering a filthy dragon curse, he forced his legs to take them faster, determined.

A nagging voice kept rambling on his head. They needed to fly. Even a Night Fury such as himself, was no match for what, seven armoured dragons? Perhaps if he had been a fully-fledged adult, or a Titan Wing, but not in his current form.

He wailed into the night, praying somebody may hear them, be it viking or beast.

 _Shhrrrieek!_ One of the beings dove down, letting loose a terrible cry, its steely talons barely missing Toothless' flank. The claws skidded lightly over the ground instead, grabbing mounds of dust and dirt. The dragon, which he believed was a Snafflefang- he hadn't seen one in over a decade, he couldn't be certain- let out a frustrated bark, roaring to its companions as they attempted to seize their target; or was it target _s_?

Toothless whined. His claws scraped against a stone platform as he circled around a Weather Post, his tail lashing out and striking the Snafflefang's snout with a harsh _thwack_. He could have sworn he felt a drop of blood land on his crimson-smeared tail.

It howled in vehement rage once more, snapping its jaws blindly, and the Night Fury almost stopped to stare, only Hiccup's frightened squeak bringing him to reality.

It was, at borderline, a thin escape.

Hiccup's foot kicked out, hitting the snout of the Typhoomerang. Toothless yelped, realising his dazed moment had almost costed their lives. He scampered onto his paws, giving a small grunt of apology when Hiccup struggled to fasten himself in his place. This made the lithe Strike dragon pause, and he barked sharply, using one wing to lift the young man's hand away. There was a moment of question. Toothless swished his tail in the air, Hiccup making a silent 'o' with his mouth, nodding slightly at his sprinting companion.

It took a moment for the full implications to sink in.

"You want me to do _what_?!"

Toothless roared, staring his rider in the eye, deliberately rolling his shoulders back in a gesture for him to act. Hiccup whined, but nodded, shakily taking a deep breath.

So, he brought his legs out the securing straps, assembled any courage in his scrawny body, and balancing on his dragon's back on his stomach, Hiccup crawled down Toothless' scaly figure. He grasped with his knees tightly upon seeing the length of his Night Fury's tail, but a twinge of relief seeped into his mind, noting how the odd prosthetic was still there, hanging on surprisingly well.

"Try and keep steady, Bud! Please?!"

He got a roar in return, and he muttered under his breath, "Worth a shot," before he started to advance down the dragon's tail, which had slightly elevated off the ground as the Fury ran.

(He realised that the whole thing, pose and facial expressions, otherwise, if not for the danger and fear of the situation, would be hilarious to behold.)

It was a bumpy ride, and it hurt, and then it pained him some more before swooping down and chucking him into agonised Hell. He bit the inside of his cheek, and having to stretch out his arms far to reach the prosthetic, he soon realised he had a new problem to add to the stinking heap of drama.

And only then, he saw that there were three, or, getting technical, five, straps.

One was thick and shorter, with a sturdy Gronckle Iron buckle, while the other two had simple metal buckles and were thinner, longer. He presumed it would be like the one he'd made Toothless for Snoggletog, five years back. It held onto his tail by two symmetrical, thin loops that wrapped thrice around the nearest spikes on Toothless' tail, the same spikes further down digging into his body.

Taking a deep breath and going by his guts and instincts, he took the thick strap with quivering hands, and brought it around the base of the tail-fins, smiling ever so weakly when it perfectly fitted with a pleasant click of security.

No longer having to worry the contraption would suddenly take off from the billowing wind, he began to try and figure out where, and how, he tied the smaller straps.

Suddenly, he got a faceful of ebony scales. "TOOTHLESS! E-ahh!"

He screamed, clutching desperately onto the Fury's tail. He thumped against the ground more than once, his dragon's movements suddenly consisting of bounding leaps and skidding turns that were harshly hostile to him.

He grunted, and turned his head, gasping in horror when he saw what was waiting for them in their path.

A cliff.

And, of course, they were surrounded. He whined, Toothless' shriek of alarm a blaring siren in his head. The adolescent's hands fumbled with the straps hurriedly, his heart's rapid beating sending jolts of pain throughout his body. The Rider cursed loudly, precariously clinging on still, trying to secure the straps.

"T-Toothless! BUD!"

The Night Fury glanced back at him, never slowing down. He couldn't. Glancing up at the dragons that were diving at them, screaming cries made to mark their deaths, the lithe black dragon gave a mighty snort and propelled them forward, leaping off the cliff edge.

 _Click_. "YES! TOOTHLESS, I DID I- AHHH!"

Toothless snorted and looked back, flapping strong, streaking past the confused, stunned enemies gathered in the sky.

He lowered down slightly, allowing Hiccup to slide down to sit in the saddle again. The man gave a squeaking _oof_ , falling ungracefully too far and hitting a thick neck, panic rushing through burning veins as his hands scrambled and clutched onto his companion's body. Despite the movement, the enemies were still their neighbours, so he took a shuddering gasp and rapidly shook his head, regained his composure, and shoved his legs into the leg straps, clutching onto the saddle horn.

By now, their sudden triumph had been recognised. The soldier dragons shrieked and snarled in outrage, setting chase with snapping jaws and grappling claws.

Diving, strident turns, barrel rolling to the sides and dipping up and down had never been such an exhausting and adrenalizing experience for Hiccup and Toothless. Their hearts seemed to pound in a coordinated rhythm, their short breaths only quelled by the sickening, booming cries of their pursuers.

It made the rider feel somewhat useless, unable to really do much apart from being a lookout. He did have to admit, however, Toothless' reflexes per the new prosthetic had drastically improved, and he must have been faster.

However, the legendary speed of a Night Fury apparently was not fast enough.

A haunting, unfamiliar shriek sliced the air, and suddenly, a bright flash of green scales rushed under them, causing Toothless to howl in pain.

Hiccup stared, his breath caught in his throat.

Sticky, hot and glistening, black Night Fury blood splashed on him, hissing as it _burned_ his bare hands. It was the epitome of a nightmare- one of his worst.

He gasped, and holding on tight, the Viking whispered to his dragon to find safety. Toothless moaned from the new wound across his underbelly, and the Viking frantically scrutinized the skies to try and find the mystery tormentor.

His hands, shaking, aching, tingling and sticky with blood dripping off his fingers, tightened around the hilt of Inferno as the same growl sounded once more, but it was a mere echo in the distance falling from stone pillars. Cursing, he focused on where Toothless seemed to be heading- a tight opening just large enough for Toothless to squeeze in, between two walls of stone.

"Bud… Wait. Follow my lead… We need to lose them…"

The dragon halted, then nodded slightly, allowing Hiccup to pull the reins slightly to the left, inclining a movement with the opposing foot on the right. The dragon complied, keeping a steady pace as the dragons tried to match up to their change of course, flustered. "Dive," Hiccup murmured, and the Night Fury growled in response, ducking under the arch of a sea stack rising from the water.

A screech, the crumbling of rocks, and annoyed snaps from the rear direction gave them the notice that one of the dragons must have had an unfortunate collision with the obstacle. Hiccup smirked slightly, feeling a pinch of triumph in his heavy chest.

 _Take that, devils_ , he thought, even if the adolescent thought 'devils' was a bit harsh. Who knew what had gotten into those armoured creatures… Were they Drago's?

Toothless' bark brought him out his stupor. Muttering obscenities at his foolishness, to be distracted like that, he spurred his companion on, weaving and ducking between the sea stacks dotting the ocean.

 _Yes… We did it…_ Hiccup felt a weak smile play on his lips. Toothless sped up, and twisted his body, silently and swiftly slipping through the entrance in the stone. It led to an almost ravine-like path, a trickling river down its length. The black dragon scanned his surroundings, now drooping, and slowly glided over to the gravelled bank. He landed with a heavy _thud_ , hastily padding inside a dark, slightly damp but decent cave. It pulled inwards, offering a wall of cover and enough space to be comfortable. They'd be safe, at least, for now.

The Night Fury weakly peeked his triangular head past the stone wall. The armoured dragons, nowhere to be found.

 _Good_ , he said quietly to himself, snorting softly.

He padded back into the cavern, laying down with a wince and leaning to one side so Hiccup, with his half-lidded eyes and sluggish movements, could slide down easier. The young rider murmured quietly, snuggling in by his warm side, unable to register much else than exhaustion.

And it was like this, that both Night Fury and Rider fell asleep, resting in the uneasy world of subconscious.

 **Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo**

 **ShoutOuts:**

 _ **aslan333-**_ Hey buddy! Wonderful to see you again, I wondered if you'd come along for the re-write. Thanks for the review!

 _ **NatBlake**_ **[Beta]-** Aww, thanks, pal! Yes, let's give him his bacon… XD So yes, the armband shall be a plotpoint in relative near-future. And yes you did. You're an official-not-so-official Beta. XD Inspiration Beta. Because you are an inspiration to both TIW and my heart, even though you didn't know that 'Dragonites' was our fanbase name. XD Thanks for the review!

 **martatkaczyk920-** Welcome to the second chapter… Hehe, thanks! I hope I wasn't too slow. ;) Thx for the review!

 **Also, I really want to give a special ShoutOut to both of my 'betas' for TIW. NatBlake, who's famous for his stories 'Captain hiccup' and 'Running With Fate' (if you have not read the first WHAT are YOU DOING with your LIFE, XD) and also to the much more in-depth or 'official' helping hand here, the amazing Introvert-Dragon, who's been so incredibly kind to take on two versions of this chapter's draft and spotted their flaws and helped me out a TON. Go check 'em out when you're lacking stories to read. XD Thanks guys, you're awesome! Love ya!**

 **Dragonites Unite!**

 **-Crystallion12**


	3. Part 1, Chapter 2- Choices

**T** **his is Wa** **r**

 **'A** **How To Train Your Dragon Fanfictio** **n'**

 **-Rated T- Genres Adventure/Fantasy-**

 **-** _ **Rewrite.**_

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own HttyD. Rights go to Respective Owners.** __

 **X-x-X**

 **Part One: The Night Fury and his Rider**

 **X-x-X**

 **Chapter 02: Choices**

 **Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo**

 _Of Choices,_

 _both stupid and wise,_

 _good or bad,_

 _Fear, it still rules you and I._

 _the day they go mad,_

 _the day he forsakes the light._

 _A rider of night,_

 _he is awake but not alive,_

 _for Pain shall find a way to thrive,_

 _found in forgotten foresight._

 _Vengeance watches with dark eyes,_

 _Destiny finds a way to brew lies._

 _Of Choices,_

 _they bow before it in Silence,_

 _and forever at its core,_

 _the dreadful reality of Fate shall seek more…_

 **Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo**

 **[Approx. 2478_D, May 27** **th** **, Morning.]**

Hiccup moaned. His eyes fluttering, vision hazy, the waking world began to seep into his conscious. Laboured, somewhat shuddering breaths racked his chest, and a searing pain burned in his shoulder. His skin tingled and itched, and his hands were almost numb- when he looked at them, he frowned, seeing the skin agitated and dry, almost cracked. Feebly, he cautiously licked his lips, finding them parched and chapped from what must have been a freezing night- the morning air wasn't far from being alien, as it was somewhat chilly. _Winter,_ he inwardly cursed, _is a devil_.

The Rider froze. What had happened? As the memories started to reconcile in his head, his eyes fleeted around to inspect the cave, checking if they were indeed safe (or, as safe as they could be right now) and if they were in detectable hostile territory.

He finally concluded they weren't, and allowed himself to take in their location.

It was just like it was when they crashed in. Although, quite honestly, it looked much larger now. There was a wide, semicircle exit out the cave to the open world on a diagonal from their corner. From his place, Hiccup could see a river and a gravel shore, surrounded by walls of stone. Up above, the sky was gloomy, as if the world wanted to rain, as well as just generally glower at them, and make their situation even _worse_.

Past experiences told him it wasn't out of the ordinary.

 _Go figure._

And, it succeeded. Thinking about rain, which was water, made him find a new regret. Wishing for water to sooth his parched throat, and frankly, a bath and a warm bed as well, he groaned, sitting up on an elbow.

Blinking dizzily, he gently rested a trembling hand on Toothless' neck, so, so greatly relieved at the sightofhis best friend, though injured, alive.

"Bud… Wake up…" He murmured softly, his dragon giving a soft drone of a response. Hiccup's fingers slid further down his dragon's body, the beast laying slightly tilted to his left, exposing his underside. Hiccup shuddered, his fingers stopping just at the Night Fury's latest injury- the cut along his chest.

Intriguingly- albeit in the horrible way- it was longer than it was wide, about six inches long, jagged, and it was around half an inch wide in the middle. The edges almost seemed burned, the scales and skin flaked and torn, like it was paper, almost. Hiccup frowned, and hesitantly, reached out, resting the tip of his finger on the hardened liquid's surface- which he presumed was Toothless' blood stains- and shocked, he found it cold, and solid. And that, he concluded, was both interesting and terrifying.

What did that mean? Was it bad or good? His eyes, widened and panicked again, darted to look at the cut itself. It was an angry red, probably infected, but his blood was black- how did _that_ add up? He remembered in his fuzzy recollection of the past events the wound was as dark as Toothless' scales when it had first happened…

It was the Fury awakening that snapped him out his daze. The black pupils wide and glossy, the emerald eyes of his companion that he could easily lose himself in, locked onto his own eyes.

Their gaze held for a while, a silent exchange of fear, worry, and relief. They were both here, and alive- that's what mattered, at least, for now.

"We… We need to get back to the others… Warn them…"

The dragon shook his head, and with a heaving, guttural groan, he pulled himself up so he sat, his wound threatening to start bleeding again. Hiccup eyed it fearfully, and shivering, he moved around, leaning against his companion's side. Toothless' tail swept around, gently draping over his feet and curling around him while an ebony wing folded against his back and side, shielding his legs when he pulled them up against his chest and hugged his knees. The heir settled his head against ebony, smooth scales, feeling his dragon's warmth radiate from underneath his hide.

He didn't know what he'd do without Toothless, and usually it only took the Fury's presence to spark his genius and create a plan, or figure out their crisis- but not now. Why it wouldn't work now, it could have been for a few obvious reasons, or perhaps another he couldn't find.

Stammering, Hiccup repeated his thoughts. "We need to get to the others… My Dad… The gang… They'll ki-"

Toothless bumped him, snorting a 'no'. Hiccup blinked at him, softly whining as his shoulder stung in the cold air. "B… But…" The dragon snorted again, looking him in the eye. He wanted- needed- Hiccup to think this through. To remember what Gothi said. Sense what grave danger they were in.

Maybe Hiccup did understand this, even if he couldn't acknowledge it. Gothi…

Surely… _Surely,_ she wasn't _dead_? It horrified him, setting a heavy anchor on his stomach, making it sink to the bottom of the ocean that was his mind. The mere thought of the bloody Typhoomerang, gore dripping from its fangs as it sneered tauntingly at them, the elder's half-choked cry of them to go. Looking back, their escaping moments were a jumbled chaos, and with dread, he couldn't take that green flash out his mind. It must have been a dragon, but what breed?

Hiccup was soon deep in thought. He should have seen the signs… The eerie sounds, the odd temperature, the tapping on the roof… Gothi's unease… The horrid feeling of being watched…

It was _his_ fault.

Emotions, confusion, agony, and grief, suddenly overwhelmed him.

Previously unrecognized tears that stung in the corners of his eyes came in streams, spilling down his cheeks as he sobbed into his dragon's scales.

"B… Bud…" He snuffed, the loud noise muffled by the dragon's flank. "What d… do we do…"

The Night Fury whined, his eyes deep and remorseful. He pawed the stone beneath them, looking utterly helpless. Hiccup took a shuddering sigh, wiping an eye, but he was soon tearing up again, sniffing when his scaly friend brought his neck around. He wrapped his arms around the Fury's triangular head, feeling the cold scales beneath and taking pitiful comfort in his presence.

The young man shuddered. He couldn't bear the thought of Gothi being dead. Even when the village resented him, back before he knew his beloved dragon, she had always been free to give him a soft smile.

She couldn't be dead… She couldn't…

He bit his tongue, trying to stop the frustrated, grief-stricken scream that wanted to break through.

Hearing a sad warble, Hiccup lifted his head a little, meeting an emerald gaze, silently asking what had just come across the heir.

 _What_ can _we do?_

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

 **[Approx. 2478_D, May 27** **th** **, Afternoon.]**

Hiccup blinked. His brows pressed together, slightly dazed. Rubbing an eye, he looked at the cave exit, realising with dread he must have fallen asleep again. A single glance at his dragon told him Toothless had followed suite.

His attention was brought back to Toothless' eerie blood. "Gods…" He muttered, for the first time realising how much there was of it…

"I'm taking you've never- until this moment- seen the blood of a Night Fury from his line?"

He froze, eyes widening. Hiccup swivelled his head back and forth, searching for the source of the voice. It had sounded deep and droning, weird and alien- it didn't have much of an accent to it, but when it finished the line it had an almost lisping effect, like a hiss, how he imagined a snake might speak (if it were possible).

"W… Who's there? Show yourself!" He cried. The alarm in his voice awoke the Night Fury beside him, who growled, snapping awake with narrowed eyes.

Another voice, undoubtedly similar to the previous, but also somehow deeper and lower, echoed off the walls. Its tone was blunt, and, the viking believed, amused. "Geez. If we had a head for every time someone's said that _totally_ un-cliché line, then we'd be the most powerful Beast alive."

"Agreed." The first voice replied.

Hiccup stared at the darkness of the cave, annoyed. "Who, and where are you… Or is that plural?"

There were a few different snorts, that sounded more incredulous than anything. "Oh, he did _not_."

"He did."

"Why are we even helping this dude?"

"You know _why_ , featherbrain."

"Hey! I don't…"

"No one asked you."

Hiccup moaned, and pressed a hand to his head tiredly. He couldn't even distinguish the voices anymore! "Alright," He muttered audibly, "So how many voices are we dealing with. Is there more than one mysterious, somehow invisible, identity we're dealing with? I'm starting to get a bloody headache…"

"Oh." The voice that answered him was somewhat softer, worrisome, sad, and was almost feminine. "Oh dear, I am sorry, love."

It paused, it's tone more seething, as two or so (at least, that's what he thought) grumbles echoed her- it? He hadn't a clue as to what to call it all… He didn't want to be disrespectful. "These idiots are being as rude as ever."

"Hey!"

"I am quite insulted."

Hiccup frowned. He was absolutely baffled at this stage. "Idiot _s_ …? So…?"

"Oh, screw it…"

Hiccup looked around. "Where are you? Can you come into sight, so we can talk face-to-face?"

"Face-to-FACES, you mean. There's more than one of us, don't you know?"

He growled under his breath and slapped a hand to his forehead. Muttering, he glared at the ground. "No, I didn't. I've been asking it for ages. How wonderful, that you _finally_ told me the mysteries of how many damn people I'm talking to."

The female sounding voice spoke again, as soft clicks of what he presumed were claws on stone sounded. "We're not people, either, young ones."

Hiccup frowned. In the back of the cave, lurking in the shadows, he could faintly see the outline of a large creature. "Come into the light, then," Hiccup murmured, fascination now taking hold of him. "Let me see you- all of you…"

"Very well." To his surprise, and apparently, Toothless' as well, the multiple voices harmonised to say it.

Just as it spoke, into the light a paw emerged. His eyes narrowed curiously at its form- it looked like that of a cat (a lion), with silver-black claws, but the fur was replaced by a shiny, smooth, dark blue-grey skin that gleamed and shone like metal in the light.

Following it came a muscular, relatively thick leg of the same colour, although hints of dark brown with overlapping grey stripes were painted on the sides.

The rest of its front emerged, revealing it had the general structure of a dragon- something between a Monstrous Nightmare and a Hideous Zippleback. It had wide and strong front legs, while its underbelly was lean sloping and its hind legs more fit for jumping. It was followed by a long tail, that had a tuft of purple-red hair on the end. From its back sprouted two wings, which appeared big and like a Night Fury's in structure, but fledged with shimmery white-grey feathers. The beast itself was covered in sharp, triangular scales that were shiny. For the most part, the creature was a shade of dark green and blue.

And from its chest, came the truth behind the many voices; they came from the multiple heads, four, in total.

It was an awesome, yet bizarre sight. Each head was unique. They were quite dragon-like, with a familiar shape throughout- a thick but squared snout, wide set dragon eyes (like Toothless'), two nostrils, and a prominent jaw. It was the details that set them apart.

One, the furthest to the right, had softer, curved edges, with smooth scales, but sharp, pointed spikes on its jawline and on top its snout. The eyes were narrow, a brilliant emerald green like his own, and full of doubt, fear, sadness, and longing. Two downwards pointing horns with sharp tips, but soft edges came from the crown of its skull. In all, it looked quite depressed and shaken.

The next, placed in the middle of the four heads, was more so scary. Lean muscle across the gaunt features, sharp and defined cheekbones, and an edgy jaw. Sharp spikes littered its jawline, as well as a few down its forehead between two sharp, jagged, menacing black horns. Underneath those were long, pointed ears, oddly enough. It had sharp teeth lining its mouth, slightly agape, the narrow nostrils flared, and a curious, yet frightened and angry gleam to its narrow, orange-red eyes.

Beside it to the left, came a head that looked more like the furthest to the right, although it didn't look all that scared, and far more desperate, pleading. Its scales were more blue than green. It reminded him of his desire for his father and his embrace- the miserable revelation made him pause and blink, but he shook it off. It had two short, thick horns that curved inwards on top of its head, and beneath it, ears made of tufty magenta fur.

And the last, and furthest to the left was a head he could explain in one word; plain. It was fully a grey colour, had no horns or spikes, no fur and barely an expression to its yellow eyes- but if there was, he simply knew that it would be full of question and absolutely no certainty.

"So, you _still_ haven't figured it out? _Seriously_?"

Hiccup jumped, his attention turning to the head that had spoken; the one with jagged black horns. It seemed rather frustrated.

The light blue head with furry ears, turned its gaze to the rude voice source.

"Oh, stop it. He's hurt and lost and confused, he n-" The head chided, but in a voice too deep and booming, and _familiar_. Hiccup whined softly, eyes wider. They all paused to look at him, the one with his father's voice having an understanding glow to its mesmerizing green eyes. It reminded him of…

"Dad…?"

The creature smiled weakly, and shook its head sadly. "No, young one, I am not the father you so seek. I am the desire, and the want for your father."

Now it was Toothless' turn to be _completely_ confused.

Hiccup was a part disappointed, part relieved, and a part- that ultimately overwhelmed the others- utterly confused.

He sunk into Toothless' warm side and stared at the massive creature. Was it a dragon?

"I still don't get it… _What_ are you? And who are… Do you have a 'combined' name?"

The four heads looked at each other, then three of four nodded. "Choices."

Hiccup frowned. "What?"

The creature lifted a paw and pointed a claw to its chest, before waving it at the heads as they spoke in unison. "Call us Choices. Does that help?"

"Eh… Not really…" Hiccup couldn't describe how awkward he felt. "I mean, shouldn't all four of you count as separate entities? And it was technically plural, for the questions. What are you… Wait… Are you the fabled Chimera?"

While most of the heads sighed, the jagged-horned head gave a barking laugh, before seeing his claim legitimate, and he got a bit insulted, actual _steam_ exploding from the sides of his head as he snarled furiously. Hiccup flinched and stared, both baffled, amazed, and frightened.

"By the stars and Hel's name, no. We are Immortals, us Beasts! Do I look like a silly, overgrown firebreathing kitty with too much hair on my face, like, double Stoick-the-Hairy-levels, or have a goat- a LITERAL goat head- constantly hanging over my shoulder- with a _snake_ out my ASS?!"

Both dragon and rider blinked. Hiccup wouldn't admit he desperately wanted to laugh his head off, and he barely managed to stifle the many giggles wanting release.

The one with his father's voice rolled its eyes, and bent down to speak directly at their eye level. "Forgive him, he's an idiot. But no, we aren't, although your nerdy acknowledgement of mythology has me intrigued. Your fishy friend with legs told you?"

Hiccup blushed and nodded. "Every Saturday night, Toothless and I tend to go over to their house, and we have a 'geek night'… One night we were up 'till dawn, reading about mythology in other lands." He smiled warmly at the nostalgic thought, and Choices purred, seemingly approving of his vast knowledge and friendliness.

"But no, we are not the legendary Chimera. We are of a sort, called _Immortals_. What he _should_ have said," she gave the still huffing head a pointed look, "Is that no, we are the only member of a certain breed, in a family of immortal- so, forever living- creatures known as the _Beasts_."

"We are the _Beast of Choices_." They then paused, and added with a quip, "But, you can just call us _Choices_."

They nodded, processing their situation smoother now.

Another of the heads, the furthest to the right, spoke, although its voice was quiet. It blinked its intelligent eyes as Toothless crooned in what must have been a question. "…Yes, Night Fury Toothless, we are the first and last of our certain kind."

The one with furry ears elaborated. "Considering most Immortals descended from the first dragons, we are something of them, but ultimately, we are our own. We Beasts represent certain things. To explain our name- for us, we live off the decisions and choices- voiced aloud or not, but only those that are recognised- of all living creatures, from the tiny shrew to the grandest Bewilderbeast. We can go off one mind or multiple at a time. For this moment, we are living off _your_ choices."

Hiccup nodded slightly, gazing upon the awe-inspiring creature.

He then attempted to put some of the puzzle pieces together himself, although it was all very, very confusing. "So… Each of your heads represents a recognised choice…" He trailed out, continuing when they all gave a confirming nod. "…That _I_ have in the current moment…?"

"Yes!" The orange-red eyed head triumphantly, and with a wing, must have taken sole control of it, to whack the back of the plain one's head. "See? Told you he'd find his smartie side and figure us out."

Hiccup managed to crack a small smile, despite the weight of the situation. The plain head gave a grumble, while the others sighed.

Then, to his bafflement, Choices casually sat and started to almost engage a _gossip_ session.

"So, what's the latest for the ol' Berk? Kinda disappointing you have yet to meet the Draconians, but meh, we'll let it slide… For now, that is. Whatcha been doin' for the last twenty years? Come on, we're curious and haven't gotten to have an actual conversation in years! _Decades_ , actually!"

Hiccup blinked, and held up his hands. Drawling out slowly, he stared. "How did you know I was twenty…? Draconians? What or who the f-"

The sulkiest of the heads- who really hadn't said much- gulped and shrank into his neck, somehow. It was almost comical, but now Hiccup abruptly felt bad. The red-eyed groaned. "Your-softie-worry-mushy-affection has manifested into this head, who apparently requires you to pay attention to that tongue of yours, Hiccup."

"Yes!" The voice peeped shyly. "Please watch the language?"

Hiccup sighed, smiling faintly, and shaking his head. "Okay, big guy." He then froze and stared, hard. "HOW DID YOU KNOW MY NAME?!"

"Hush, hush…" The black-horned head gave a rather smug, sly smile, lifting a claw, and waving it in front of him. "Every beast needs its secrets. No telling, child. You'll see someday."

Hiccup sighed. Considering it already knew his father, and his options for the next course of action, why should he even be surprised? Deciding to go against the absurdity of it, he shook his head and offered a smile. He reached forward, giving the creature's pale head a scratch. The contact made the beast purr, although it sent a magical, strange tingle down his nerves that struck his very core.

He shuddered, but it was more of a _good_ shudder, in an unexplanatory way. "So let's-"

The stubborn, arrogant black-horned head interrupted him cold with a slight twinge of that charming, yet quite annoying smugness in its expression.

And as he continued to rant on, completely overriding everyone else, frequently about things he wasn't honestly connecting the dots to, Hiccup not-so-briefly let his mind wonder if this head was the representation of something savage buried _deep_ in his core… Yes, he could even _picture_ it; Presented to his foes by a savage, vicious red-eyed _Buffcup_ with a lust for kicking evil butt, taking stupid names as pre-mentioned, and having a berserk rage through Hysteria…

 _Wait._ He stopped. In both mind and body, he became still and utterly confused. _Where did that come from…?_ He quietly asked himself, before noting that Toothless was now staring him down, as usual, seemingly able to tell his every thought and emotion.

However, right now, all that he could find in those vivid green eyes was the silent question of his rider's current sanity, and at this stage, he was starting to question if Hiccup needed Gothi herself to whack his head and talk some sense into him... And as in 'starting', he meant that he was seriously considering it…

The Night Fury gave a miserable whine, already regretting that train of thought, and bringing up the village elder. _Damn you, guilt_.

 **Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo**

 **ShoutOuts:**

 _ **aslan333-**_ Thanks! Happy Snoggletog! :D

 _ **Introvert-Dragon**_ **[Beta]-** Thank you so much! It's really been a pleasure to work with you for this story, and I look forward to the next round of beta'ing! And for what type of author I am? Well… *Laughs maniacally* XD But that aside, happy Snoggletog, and thanks for the review!

 **martatkaczyk920-** Haha, thanks! I'm glad to hear I've improved… But what of Gothi? Have a wonderful holiday, and happy Snoggletog! Thanks a ton for the review! ;)

 **And, as always, my personal thanks to everyone who's been involved with this story, from its followers, to my inspirations, and my betas. A special thanks to Introvert-Dragon for being this chapter's beta! Thanks a ton!**

 **NOTE: I've got a lil' One-Shot coming as a Snoggletog Special, called 'Wraith', if you're interested. ;)**

 **So, last thing before I close up here, I'd just like to wish you all a very special Snoggletog (Christmas)- this year has been amazing. Thank you all! :D**

 **Happy Snoggletog, and as always… Dragonites Unite!**

 **-Crystallion12**


	4. Part 1, Chapter 3- Legacy

**T** **his is Wa** **r**

 **'A** **How To Train Your Dragon Fanfictio** **n'**

 **X-x-X**

 **-Rated T- Genres Adventure/Fantasy-**

 **-** _ **Rewrite.**_

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own HttyD. Rights go to Respective Owners.**

 **X-x-X**

 **Part One: The Night Fury and his Rider**

 **X-x-X**

 **Chapter 03: Legacy**

 **WARNING; Gore, violence, and dark/mature themes ahead. Reader Discretion is highly advised.**

 **Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo**

 _Dragons and Riders,_

 _Oh, Draconians be fighters and guardians,_

 _Skulblaka and Shur'tugal as one,_

 _Dragons and Riders, together, they are,_

 _But where do they roam now?_

 **Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo**

 **[Approx. 2478_D, May 27** **th** **, Sunset.]**

For a while, they were quiet. "I gotta go back…" Hiccup mumbled, lifting his gaze to meet the many of the creature before him, the Beast of Choices. He then looked at Toothless, correcting himself, "We have to go back… We have to protect our people… The dragons…"

The blue head hummed softly, speaking in a noble, deep and totally Stoick voice. "You are dedicated to your small ranks. But, we are sorry to say that your next move best not be that."

"I don't have much of a choice!" Hiccup hissed. "We- me and Toothless- we're the best riders they have, by pointed blatancy!"

"Actually, as of right now, you have four choices, as displayed by our heads."

Hiccup sighed, unable to keep a stern face for too long when it made such a cheesy joke, the orange-eyed head bearing a sharp, toothy grin. He smiled a bit. "Yeah, apparently, I do. If you would set them out…?"

"Well," The furthest to the right started, "I'm idea of going to Gothi, if she's still alive."

Next came the darker head with jagged horns. "I'm the idea of getting revenge against those bloody beasts! Wretched dragons…"

The one with Stoick's voice simply looked at him, one eye-ridge raised. It was simply put. The desire for his father and village- not too drastic, but not overly safe, judging by everything, and what it added up to.

The last, the plain, sighed. "Rather than 'idea', I'm gonna use 'choice', and say that I, am the choice of staying here, in the cave, and doing nothing."

Hiccup and Toothless blinked at the far-left head. That explained the colour, at least.

Biting his lip, the heir stared at the ground. He had his choices sat in front of him- quite literally, too.

"It is up to you," The jagged-horned rumbled, "But I would pick another option, aside from these. If only it was opened up…" He met Hiccup's frown, and his trademark curious expression. "We can show you that… If you let us."

Toothless growled something, his protectiveness, which had been creeping in slowly ever since they had met the Immortal, suddenly kicking into drive. His long tail swept around his rider, drawing him in close to his warm, shady sleek body. Hiccup gave a soft yelp in response, placing a hand on Toothless' shoulder to support himself as he looked into the corner of the dragon's eye, hoping to find an explanation- surprised to find hostility in those emerald cores.

The Choices tensed slightly to whatever was transferred, and it hissed to answer the Night Fury. "Fine," It spat as one, "He will ride on your back, Night Fury."

Hiccup didn't let it show earnestly, but frowned.

Had The Choices had expected him to ride it?

But… Why?

Surely it had understood and accepted that Hiccup only ever flew with Toothless, unless something came up?

Whatever had transpired was quickly forgotten, and checking their surroundings as they stepped onto the rocky shore, The Choices spread its huge feathery wings.

Hiccup was easily astounded by their size, even more so when he saw them fully extend out and flap once or twice to test the winds. Toothless followed the Beast, eyeing his new prosthetic before leaping into the afternoon skies, (uneasily, for it was rather strange to be in control again) waiting for The Choices. As it flew over them and flicked its tail for them to follow, the heads- excluding the 'Stoick' head and the one with Gothi in mind- passed glares back at Toothless.

Hiccup didn't know if his expression was very well hidden, that time, and he only barely kept his thoughts from being spoken aloud.

Why was The Choices suddenly so _aggressive_?

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

 **[Approx. 2478_D, May 27** **th** **, Sunset.]**

It was wise to stay silent about it, but in his opinion, The Choices was far greater a guide and a flyer than he had first believed. Its large size and light wings had him questioning his manoeuvrability, but it seemed to not hinder the beast in the slightest. Choices occasionally glanced back at him and Toothless, but was otherwise silent as they started to fly up the mountain.

Hiccup took a deep breath. He muttered another quiet apology, realising yet again, his prosthetic was automatically moving to Toothless' movements in flight, as if he had to control the prosthetic. The issue was, that now, he didn't have to.

 _Well,_ he thought moodily, _at least the sunset is pretty_. And, indeed, it was. It was one of the geographical upsides of living on Berk, the sunsets. Great streaks of deep orange outlined the sun that dipped into the ocean, casting a shimmery yellow light over the sparkling waves. As the two flying creatures soared around the mountain again, Hiccup got a look at the east skies, which were gradually darkening.

Toothless peeked at his rider. He could tell that his precious partner was lost in the deepest crevices of his mind, troubled, and he didn't like that, the dragon thought.

Shifting a shoulder, he tried to grab his attention, slightly shocked when his rider didn't even notice in his body. His own mind dampened, like a soaked sheet of fabric, dripping and heavy.

"We're approaching." The Choices suddenly said, speaking through the plain head- it thus lacked much emotion or any meaning behind the words.

The duo merely nodded in response.

To say the human and his Fury weren't surprised by the discovery ahead, would be a cringeworthy lie. How they had never once seen the open gap in the mountain was bewildering. Choices ducked down, swooping towards a large crack in the walls of the mountain- it was about two thirds up the rocky formation, not quite reaching the snow layers, not too chilly in the afternoon air. Toothless followed, curious, Hiccup only watched as the larger creature brought its massive wings in slightly to fit inside- the Night Fury flew within the walls rather smoothly, in comparison.

Hiccup had to pay attention to what he saw- as Toothless soared in, he noticed a strange shimmer in the air behind them, where the entrance was.

As they flew, torches on either side of them set alight on their own, and it shocked him to see the flames were an icy, light blue, like the cold scales of a Groncicle. Yet, they glowed and flickered like any other.

"Choices…?" He didn't even need to shout, his voice echoing off the stone. "Where are we going?"

The feminine-sounding voice replied, perhaps a bit merrier, "You'll see!"

Hiccup wondered why it sounded so thrilled. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as the Beast suddenly dipped down and out of sight, the last he saw of it being the red-purple fur on the end of its glistening tail. Toothless warbled a smug sound, and then the young man's eyes widened slightly, seeing where they were headed, the seemingly endless path lit by the mysterious blue torches.

Hiccup doubted he'd ever seen or gone down such a steep and long descent, such as the one Toothless happily screeched, and dove into.

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

 **[Approx. 2478_D, May 27** **th** **, Sunset.]**

Toothless rumbled, amused, air rushing past his scales, making a tingling sensation in his body. He glanced up at Hiccup, who was laughing while hugging his neck, leaning forward heavily. He clung on tightly with his ankles.

"Oh, Hiccup-ey Hiccup… Scared of a little fall?" Choices' voice boomed up from down below, teasingly sweet. Toothless snorted softly, although Hiccup gave a chuckle.

"No!" He shouted back.

The rider lifted his head slightly, eyeing the now visible pit that laid at the end of their fall. It was dark, and he noted it glinted dark green, red, and gold in parts.

However, Hiccup didn't quite get the time to ask himself this, or, why. Toothless was slow kicking up his hind legs, rising his middle and chest to transfer his weight for a landing- he would crash into the pit. Hiccup and Toothless gave screeching screams as the dragon's legs flailed, suddenly taking away their laughs.

And if not for Choices jumping out with two extended necks, they would've crashed, badly.

Hiccup felt the air squeeze out his lungs, and he gasped, pressing the side of his face against his dragon's ebony scales. Toothless laid arched over the necks underneath him, slowly regaining his motion and feeling gravity weigh out. Hiccup cast his sights to the left, seeing the plain head of Choices eyeing them, head tilted in question as their eyes met. The young man released a sigh of relief, patting his dragon's neck, before slowly getting up with a stiff groan.

Hiccup couldn't believe how much he had felt so heavy, and stiff in the matter of three days, and so frequently...

The mortal slid off Toothless, gliding his touch down the dragon's side as he did so. He was hesitant to touch down, finding a patch of normal, but dark stone to set his foot and peg leg down on. He eyed the glinting pile of colours with restlessness.

"Oh, do ignore _that_ ," The jagged-horned head grunted when Hiccup gestured to the pile in question.

"Wretched, rotting pile of nothing, it is. Come along now, you two. On your paws, Night Fury."

Toothless slithered off the beast's necks, watching with narrow eyes. Choices merely brushed past the dragon, taking the lead again, with a slight hiss starting to walk down the lightest tunnel available of the three. The Fury walked beside Hiccup, giving a grunt, as if to say that he didn't quite approve of their situation.

Hiccup muttered under his breath, tense, as they followed the not-as-cheery immortal creature. "I'm right behind you, Bud…"

 _Then again,_ Hiccup thought, his inner naïve voice allowing a second chance to spark; _it could just be that the happy heads went silent and the grumpy one went all dark and sounding like the bad guy who's not actually a bad guy but he's some double agent or secret minion or whatever mysterious…_ He bit his lip and silently, to himself, rolled his eyes. _No, I'm probably just reading into this WAY too hard._

He turned his attention back to the scene present.

Choices and Toothless simply had their focus set forward- Hiccup figured someone should examine their surroundings…

Even though it was, simply put, stone walls, with a chain of torches on either side.

He could see why 'forward', was the more preferred matter of subject. The heir sighed, taking up the mantle of what they were doing, not that it really required much effort, making such an epic of a term worthy. They seemed to walk forever, so much so that Hiccup's feet longed to stop. This, he mused, was rather strange- he'd trekked mountains, and covered tiring trails far longer than what they had likely travelled so far, so what was different now?

Their heir set aside his troubled apprehension, however, as they stepped out into a large, spacious chamber.

It was truly an awe-inspiring sight. A gentle but fine streak of orange light shone through a crack moulded in the roof of the dome-shaped chamber, although he could clearly see six torches mounted on the walls regardless. Hiccup stared in wonder at the gold engravings that covered the walls, following some sort of timeline. Dragons, he took in with his sweep of the sight, were a prominent image on the walls.

His gaze was then attracted to something else- a single pedestal in the centre of the massive room. It was shiny, pure black, and carved on the side surfaces of the black object was a dragon unlike any other he'd seen before, once again in a dazzling, shiny gold.

He frowned, noting the emerald eyes the dragon possessed. _Just like Toothless'_ , he thought quietly, stepping forward, walking around the chamber.

Toothless stepped beside him, head held high.

The dragon looked suspicious, and the tides of emotion tipped to the will of confusion.

And a moment later, Hiccup could understand why.

A thin layer of shiny red metal on top of the pedestal's surface, depicted his and Toothless' signature mark- the skull with horns. It was, he noted, slightly different than it had been after the Red Death, and then, again, not quite the same as the one he bore on his shoulder pad, and Toothless his tail fin, in the present. Instead, it looked more like a dragon's skull, narrow snout, and golden eyes with thin black slits glaring at them.

 _But how…?_ Hiccup stared at the image. How could- whoever had done this- had known? Was this all made by someone in the village- On Berk?

The young viking whirled around, the sound of his feet pivoting bouncing off the walls.

He looked up, expecting to see Choices, but couldn't find the chimera-hydra-like beast. He blinked for a few moments, frowning, his lips pursing together. He stared at the exit of the chamber. "Bud?" He looked at his dragon. "Where… Bud?"

Toothless stared at the wall. His eyes had locked onto a particular carving, depicting a Night Fury in flight, mounted on its back, a man, wearing a long cape that flowed in the wind as he raised his sword high above his head. Beneath it were two carvings of menacing dragons, much like the design on the pedestal. Above it to the other diagonal was another of its kind, but more vicious, bearing a cruel snarl. Around the majestic Fury were a circle of strange runes, ones neither could translate.

"It's a Night Fury… And a rider… Curious, all this stuff…" The dragon looked at his boy, who ran his hand down the gold, shivering at the cold surface.

The young man was suddenly filled to the brim, from toes to fingertips, with a strange sensation- a soft hum, like a wave of cool water had washed over his bare skin after a day in the scorching sun. A humming melody rang in his ears, as his fingers traced the silver, gentle outline of a long, serpent-like, feathered dragon he'd never seen before, carved into the wall with such precision and care.

He stared up at the shining artwork above him, sheer amazement a symphony in his mind.

"All this… Is it true…?"

Hiccup beamed, and ran to another section, staring with childish excitement at the utopia of dragons and history before him- it was all _so_ much.

But in his engrossment, one Rider was unaware of his Dragon slipping out, following a dangerous calling to fight. And while he did so, narrow red eyes watched with a savage, pleased glint reflecting within the dark depths of hatred.

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

 **[Approx. 2478_D, May 27** **th** **, Evening.]**

Toothless stopped, his ear plates lifting an inch higher. They twitched as they adjusted to the repetitive sound of water droplets falling from a stalactite.

The darkest tunnel, the Fury had discovered, woven deep into the mountain, presented him before an even larger chamber than the decorated one his partner was in. Nothing had been done to it, staying in its natural form, mostly boring except for a dozen or so stalactites and stalagmites.

He sniffed the air.

It was pungent with the scent of an unfamiliar creature, the air eerily cold.

Not naturally cold.

He was not alone. The dragon hissed, narrowing his pupils- he unsheathed his sharp teeth to the cavern, and posed a defensive crouch.

 _Nnniiiiiight Fuuury…._ Toothless went stiff, the voice ringing in his head, accompanied by an audible choir of hisses from the darkness of the cave. _Hearrr ussss… Hear ussss! Grrrreat traaagedyyy shall be brought uuuuponn yousssss… Your Riiiiddderrr will perisssssshhh…. SCCCARRRLET SHALLLL RUULL ALLL!_

That broke the dams. Jumping up from his rigged place, feet sunk to the ground, Toothless roared and fired a bright plasma blast at the far wall.

It struck as hundreds of furious, shrill shrieks echoed off the walls, the sound bouncing back to the Night Fury. He howled, dropping back down to the floor, pawing desperately at his ears as the sound brought pouring agony into his brain. He watched with wide, petrified eyes as narrow, glowing eyes pierced the gloom, and slithering forth appeared countless large snakes, all glittering and gleaming fiercely.

 _Gold_ , _red_ , and _green_.

Those that were gold had green eyes, red had gold, and the green had red, creating a fitting (in the negative light, unfortunately, though) circlet of colours. Their long fangs were a shiny black, and they all individually had to be the biggest snakes he had ever seen- some were as wide in the middle as Hiccup was across his neck.

Toothless roared once more in fury. Choices had said it was _nothing_ \- not- NOT _thousands_ of strange SNAKES!

The snakes paused to bow their head towards an approaching creature, hissing in respect, and he whimpered- if he thought a gold snake to his left was big, then it was nothing compared to the unorthodox beast now towering over his dragon self.

It stood- or slithered- out from the rest of its ranks, a glimmering, haunting pitch black, with ghostly blue eyes. It had many sharp white teeth lining its jaws, while its two primary fangs gleamed a cold silver. He noted, with mortification, those fangs were as long as Hiccup's arm. The beast itself was large enough to coil around a Monstrous Nightmare undoubtedly, and comfortably, at that, and have _none_ of the scaled victim visible in its brutal death.

For one of the few times in his life, Toothless was honestly and truly _scared_. He could normally growl at any new dragon, because it was a _dragon_. He understood that, and he knew by now that _dragons_ are usually _dangerous_.

So was this creature scaring him? It was a snake- a bit scary on its own, at least to his protect-Hiccup side.

But when he had a real-life comparison for this ungodly, unnatural creature?

Yes, it was downright _wrong_ , and it was _terrifying._

Toothless finally realised how much he was shaking, his toothed jaw loose, his ear plates flat against his neck. The smaller snakes hissed in tune, eyeing him, while the black behemoth eyed him almost curiously.

'Wh…. What… What are you?' Toothless whispered in Dragonese, only afterwards realising that this was a _snake_ , not a dragon. Would it understand him?

The black snake judged him with its icy gaze. ' _A ssssnakkke_ ,' It simply hissed, in Dragonese (surprisingly), in a female (also, once again, surprisingly) voice. ' _We arre very powerrrrfuuul snakessss, unlike thhe puny, worthhhlessss morrrtal oness that sssslither acrossss thisss realm_.'

'Oh,' Toothless muttered, honestly expecting something rather different from a response, if he even got one. _It'll have to do… Now… Escape route…_

The snakes gave a chorus of displeased hisses, as if able to read his mind.

' _Don't rrrrun away, Nniiiight Fuuury…_ ' The large reptile cooed softly, glaring down at him. The snakes hissed as they circled him, their vile tongues slipping out their mouths to flick at him, the glint of their fangs menacing in the dark.

He was trapped. Absolutely aware of this, the black leader's mouth curled in delight. ' _We hhhhhavvven'tt had a gooddd talkkk in a whhhhile… Withhh a ddddrraaagoonn…_ '

 _Of courssssse…_ One snake hissed telepathically, its golden scales such a horrible, forbidden treasure to the unassuming perspective, while its crimson gaze petrifying.

It came closer than any others, lifting its narrow head to hold it mere inches away from Toothless' ebony snout.

 _Mossst of them are ddead befffforre we gettt thhhere…_

' _STRRRIIIIKE WITHH FFFFAANG AND FFFEEAR, MY SSSUBJECCTSSS!_ '

And Toothless screamed.

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

 **[Approx. 2478_D, May 27** **th** **, Evening.]**

Hiccup lifted his head and froze, hearing a gut-wrenching sound he knew belonged to a Night Fury in the greatest distress. It was a scream, a dragon scream, a sound so rarely heard. High pitched, droned, long and piercing. It echoed through the entire mountain and came shooting into his heart and mind heavier than an axe.

"Toothless…?"

His dragon wasn't there. Panic began to surge within him. "TOOTHLESS!"

He didn't think. Scrambling to his feet, he charged out the chamber, heart racing and thundering in his chest while blood pounded in his ears.

He halted, nearly tripping, at the crossroad with the triple tunnel entrances, shouting his beloved friend's name. He heard a roar in answer, and a horrible, monstrous, colossal montage of hisses- snake hisses.

Normally, if it was one snake, he wouldn't really be concerned.

If it wasn't for how loud the next snake noise was, or the hundreds of smaller ones that followed his dragon's howl.

 _Gods, Bud… What have you gotten into now?_

Hiccup sped down the tunnel, which seemed forebodingly endless. Forgetting all else, Hiccup's mind was torn in terror and panic. What if he was too late? What awaited him at the end of the tunnel, if it remained? He screamed with his dragon, when another extremely loud wave of screeches shook the ground- literally, causing him to stumble- and he willed himself to push on.

He had to get to his dragon… He _had_ to… He couldn't lose Toothless…

"… _Especially_ to MUTANT SNAKES!"

This is what Hiccup screamed, as he burst into a huge chamber, filled with a huge array of gold, red, and emerald green, large snakes. Hissing in the centre, coiled around Toothless, was a giant, enormous black serpent, its menacing blue eyes filled with savage glee and its silver fangs bared.

"It could probably swallow a Gronckle whole with a jaw span like that…" He muttered aloud, before realising that very factor, and the major facts; one being that Toothless needed his help- and he was rooted in place.

The adolescent gasped, his trembling hands fumbling for Inferno, his dragon blade, even as he ran towards Toothless.

What did he think he could do?

He had no idea.

What could _possibly_ go wrong with his one-hundred-percent improvised plan?

 _Just about everything_ , his mind snapped at him.

"Shut up," He muttered to himself, and yelped as a long green body streaked past his prosthetic, making him fall on his front with a painful _thud_.

He gasped, stars dancing in his vision, the world dizzy.

A creeping, slithering sensation passed over his leg, cold but heavy…

Just as a hiss, and a forked tongue appeared above him from a long, relatively thin red serpent with gleaming gold eyes. He shrieked, and swivelled his head to stare at the green one that was making its way up his back, a vibrating noise in its throat. He could have sworn it was their form of laughter.

"TOOTHLESS!"

Neither were sure what caught the most urgency- the snakes, the giant behemoth of one, or their own pain. The monster's attention transferred to the human trapped in the clutches of two of her minions, a small green and a red.

' _KILL THE BOY_!'

Hiccup gasped, hearing the voice. It was in human tongue, Norse. These odd creatures starting to show up, one after the other, were really unnerving him.

He glared at the snakes all around, the long green reptile restraining him.

His hand secured around Inferno's hilt, and clicked.

The heir smirked as the orange flames burst forth on the extended blade, causing the nearest of the black serpent's subjects to squeal and flee, including the ones threatening Hiccup. He didn't let the green one, instead pinning it quickly under his boot. A risky move that he would soon be thankful for, and he took this in advance.

The behemoth of a beast screeched her outrage, and her grip around Toothless briefly loosened as she shot her ebony head at Hiccup.

Smirking, Hiccup grabbed the green snake, and threw it into her mouth. Both screeched, but the black was entitling rage, not the sheer agony of the smaller green, and anyone could see why.

Her silver fangs melted whatever they touched.

Taking his morbid opportunity, Hiccup shot forward with Inferno, and pushing aside any terror or second thoughts, slashed the beast with his sword. He watched with wide eyes as he ran to Toothless, wincing at her roars of outrage and pain, and he cut her in succession until she was forced to uncoil, releasing his dragon. He didn't dare look at the damage he had inflicted with his own sword. The Night Fury leaped out, wobbly on his legs, but was quick to roar, and shoot a Plasma Blast at the back of the giant snake's head with a ripping explosion, lighting up the cave walls with the blue fire. Both rider and dragon ducked from it, a black wing shielding an otherwise defenceless human, who had turned off his flaming blade so they wouldn't be exposed.

Hiccup looked at Toothless. The dragon was panting, chest heaving with every breath, exhaustion visible. The lithe dragon was shaking, snarling, seething with rage, and grunting frequently with what he guessed was pain.

But, he noticed with a shuddering sigh of relief, his dragon wasn't bitten or hurt other than his previous wound, which now bled freely. He bit his lip and looked back at the cavern of mutated snakes.

What _were_ they? And how would they ever defeat them?

 _Thinking like a hardcore hero there,_ _Hiccup,_ his mind growled. _Already wondering how to kill that thing._

"It's plural, brain. ThOSE thingS."

His best friend turned to stare at him weirdly, with a twinge of exasperated 'what the heck', in his eyes. Hiccup muttered an apology, he hadn't realised it was, once again, spoken unintentionally aloud, and he returned to focus.

Their foe was not pleased. She tossed the decomposed, melted, and dead snake from her jaws, her snout wrinkling with disgust at the sight of the dull green that leaked into the still melting puddle of steaming silver. Hiccup could see the white of its bones in the liquid, and it took a lot to hold in the bile threatening to rise and join the occasion. He now knew what a slowly melting eye looked like.

He whimpered as the monster finally regained its bearings, and started to look for them, slithering dark through the spikes that detailed the cavern. Toothless hurried for cover when its back was turned. The rock that shielded them would not be effective for long, they both knew it.

The heir looked into his dragon's eyes frantically, his hands light on the dragon's jaws although they felt as heavy as lead.

They had to try. They had to do something, no matter what it was.

His hand, white at the knuckles, clutched the hilt of Inferno, and he watched as Toothless braced his muscles and his claws gripped the stone. His sharp teeth gleamed in full hostility towards the beast.

The heir moved first. He slid his one foot out of the rock's protective cover, and with a deep intake of breath, he rolled to press his back against another stalagmite. Looking to his side, he saw Toothless had leaped up and now clung onto a hanging stalactite. It drew the huge snake's attention, and it hissed excitedly as it slithered to their location, and slowly, its gaze focused on where Toothless once was, as its mighty, glinting head inclined slightly to the left.

It gained him time to act. His sword whooshed to life with a sweep of flames and he lunged for its head, stabbing it just below the ear hole with a squelch and a spurt of steaming silver blood.

The wound didn't go unnoticed, eliciting a howling screech of agony from the monster. It arched its neck and opened its jaws. The sound bounced off the cave walls with a ghastly finality to it- his confidence wavered slightly.

Now he had to run. He scrambled to stand, and his heart pounding, the viking shot past the long, glittering length of the beast.

He failed to notice, acknowledge, and avoid the still present minions of their presumed queen. One gold snake hissed savagely and reared up before Hiccup, coiled as the end of the black snake's tail swept him off his feet, slamming him down on his back. His prosthetic tried to gain a grip- and then he realised said leg was trapped under a boulder. He shouted a curse.

Jaws extended, fangs bared, his accuser taunted him all around- slithering alongside his arms and side, the gold snake was hissing and snapping ravenously, teasing him. He gasped as its black fangs only barely missed his remaining leg, due to the quick reflexes of his wrist, suddenly finding solitude around the hilt of Inferno. He didn't even know what had happened, until it was too late; his sword sliced the reptile across the first quarter of its long body. Its split body was cauterised by the flames. He stared, shocked, the creature falling dead, and in two separate parts. Blood was spilling through gaps where the flames hadn't touched, leaving the fallen snake laid in a pool of its own blood.

Toothless roared over the furious hisses and screeches filling the pandemonium. His rider would get _killed_ , at this rate!

Hiccup's head whipped to face the frantic Night Fury before he fired a ball of blue fire at the black snake's cranium. He repeated four more times with little regard for the monster's strained, pain-filled cries. The explosions echoed, and the stone floor shook a little under the pressure present in the cavern.

The adolescent yelped, getting thrown suddenly to the ground by a sudden shift of movement in the black serpent. It slammed its bloody, shiny silver-black head at the stalactites, making them crash to the floor. Toothless gave a roar as he jumped away, getting unlucky a few heartbeats later, falling with a shriek that formed into a cry of pain, mixed with a loud crack.

Hiccup felt his own heart skip a few beats, his eyes widening with horror; the black snake had caught her target, and now slithered towards Toothless swiftly to finish it with wide jaws and dripping silver fangs.

Not if he had anything to say about it.

Screaming furiously, his face was contorted with sudden, boiling hot rage. This _menace_ would _not_ kill _his_ best friend.

It happened rather instinctively- his hand snatched up his Dragon Blade, he got up despite the fires of his pain, crossed the distance in a few long bounds, and he jumped with a bellow that startled the beast, whom turned to face him, her position just low enough for him to reach.

Big mistake, on her part.

By sheer dumb luck, he would later conclude, he ended up landing upon her scaly, distorted head, sinking the flaming blade deep into the bridge of its black skull, through the jewel-hard crust of scales and blood and muscle.

The monster gave a daunting roar, drowning Hiccup's shout.

Hiccup's chest heaved as he pulled his sword back out and heavily held it just over her skull. The creature remained to scream. She started to toss her huge head. Hiccup gave a bitter, annoyed snort and made a haste Night Fury call. He heard a faint response from Toothless and was promptly thrown off the beast, hurtling towards the cavern floor at a much faster pace than he liked.

It was replaced by a figure of black scales a moment later. His arms wrapped quickly around his dragon's neck- Toothless roared and sprung into a sprint for the exit. Their escape attempt proved futile.

A long black tail whipped his mount from underneath, pulling the dragon's legs to the left viciously. They went down, tumbling across the harsh ground, both giving noises of pain and despair. Everything was aching.

"How is it _still_ alive!?" Hiccup moaned, staring up at the writhing, furious, and yet, not-dead behemoth.

Its blue eyes were thinner and more dangerous than he'd seen them to that point- they were petrifying, so much so he was quite struck in his fallen position, propped up on nothing but his bare hands which ached and burned, slippery with blood.

It opened its jaws and screamed once more, saliva spraying from the even scarier cavern that was its mouth, its silver fangs gleaming, renewed in its rage, like daggers of polished steel.

It was smashing its mental limits in exchange for a sudden evolution. No time for words and sentiment when you're _that_ pissed, he supposed.

He soon realised, with shivers down his spine, as he witnessed the new source for its ear-splitting shrieks; its voice wasn't the only thing being smashed. Perhaps if they were on casual, friendly terms and sat down at the dinner table, with cups of tea, he would have found it more so _fascinating_ than outright _terrible_. But it was, indeed, the latter, witnessing an indented V-shape down its throat pulse before the scales stretched downwards into narrow slits, and its throat seemed to almost suck into its body, before it burst in a bloody mess, spraying the hot silver liquid everywhere.

He could see it in full view as the beast towered above them. Along the V of its split, bloody throat, the collar of black flesh donned bone white, razor sharp spikes that occasionally took turns to twitch, as if desperate for the shedding of fresh blood.

The giant, terrifying monster slithered out, vicious hunger coming through guttural groans. The heir watched with an even grimmer expression and wider eyes when he saw a similar process present itself down the creature's spine- the scales split, flesh and bone revealed, and along the middle of its back emerged sharp spikes, as lethal and sharp as those of a Deadly Nadder or a Razorwhip. The very end of its long tail split into three sharp, steely blades, like a trio of giant swords or an array of huge butcher knives.

He could see the haunting green mist within the white bones, now, through it trickles of its metallic life source.

It most certainly _wasn't_ dead.

But frozen in shock, shaking and petrified, neither had the chance to make a move as the black snake launched at them, jaws wide open…

Both felt the impact of its snout as it abruptly struck the ground, the snake teetering to the left with a howl- while Toothless and his rider hadn't had time to react, something else had. Something huge, with four snarling heads, sharp teeth and cruel, steeled claws that lashed at the monster.

Its prey suddenly forgotten, the black serpent craned its neck around and swiftly made into a coiled, defensive pose. It bared its deadly fangs and hissed louder.

' _Leave_!' She shrieked; the snake's saliva sprayed onto the beast. ' _They are mine! MINE_!'

With a start, it became apparent that the sudden saviour was a previously absent Choices. They had never seen the multiple-headed creature so angry.

"Yours? Mine? What does it matter, you old fool! You shame us- you shame The Fate! _Trying to kill these two?_ Even- _even_ -" The heads of the Choices sputtered as one. The Beast seemed to have lost an answer, or, rather, at least one that was in coherent Norse sentences.

Resorting to a screech in his rage, Choices reared onto his back legs, and slashed the mutant serpent across the snout once more; blood poured forth and the roars of the Hydra-like-creature muted the whimpers and soft hisses of the snake. Shockingly, she was not uttering a word anymore. " _YOU ARE A FOOL_! DO YOU WANT _ALL_ OF US _DEAD_? YOU ARE A WRETCHED, FOUL, DISGUSTING- YOU- WHY! AND YOU DARED TO- _HOW DARE YOU_!"

One of the draconic heads slammed into the snake's throat. Merely growling at the discomfort and grotesque aspect of being touched by a sickening gas and those leaks of silver acid (The Choices' scales seemed to be an impenetrable armour to it) running down the grey snout, the head snapped angrily, oblivious to the howl that erupted from the snake's throat, before something astonishing happened causing the many witnesses to gape (some of the snakes hissed in disbelief, and some made a form of screaming)-

The enormous black snake, with silver fangs, moaned, toppled, and fell to the ground, sprawled out over the stone ground, still as cold stone, as a dull _thud_ echoed through the chamber. Silence took the grave of the battle…

For a solid minute or so.

"I think we just made a terrible mistake…" The Choices was saying, sounding calmer, now hovering protectively over the Night Fury and Viking; the army of snakes were downright livid. Some were screeching frantically, and slithering against the fallen, silent body of their monstrous leader- others were facing the trio, their jewelled eyes blazing, looking murderous- and some were awfully still, lurking in the shadows and behind stalagmites, probably cowering at the obvious display of power.

Toothless groaned; Hiccup squeaked; and Choices gave an ear-piercing roar that effectively turned the scene into a chaotic dilemma.

Option one; try and break through the huge swath of attacking snakes and escape.

Option two; charge at the still attacking snakes and fight back.

Neither were very appealing, Hiccup reluctantly admitted with a grimace. _Typical_. Swallowing, he took his shaking hand off Toothless' scaly shoulder, and brandished Inferno once more.

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

 **[Approx. 2478_D, May 27** **th** **, Night.]**

Later, Hiccup would stumble, limping, back into the artistic chamber, that, thankfully, did not harbor for a mass of lethal killer reptiles. It had taken an avalanche of boulders and stalagmites, in the end, to stop the three of them from being victims in a gruesome massacre.

This visit to the mysterious place, was different, however.

His actions led him down another path, cutting a twist in the road, in a metaphorical sense- one which would change him forever.

He looked at the wall with the most things he recognised on it, and slumped down against the wall opposite. He gazed at the carvings, quiet, and all movement in the room was belonging to the flickering of the six blue torches mounted on the walls.

Alone, he mused. He thought and contemplated. Staring, almost blankly to the non-asserting eye, the light that reflected on the metallic gold reminded him of many aspects of life. Some things could still be seen, even in the dark. Some things still reflected and shone; while others were left to be silenced and blinded. Most of them came into view when light was held to it- such as the torch. Hiccup wondered where he stood in all this; where Toothless did, his friends, his father, Berk- Choices- and dragon, and human kinds themselves.

As a smart boy, he had always known that life wasn't fair, and the world was much bigger than him.

His hand slipped down his leg. He shivered in the cold. Wincing as it brushed over the bruises and the occasional scrape or shallow cut on his battered leg, he rested his aching fingers around the still warm, sticky, dark red-and-silver hilt of a weapon he had once sworn to never use in combat.

He took it from its slot, and stared at it, silent once more.

Everything was going to change, he knew. And, he felt that, perhaps, it already had, just a small bit. But how? How had so much changed in such little time? Why did it? And why- why to _him_? The Heir of Berk was constantly told, usually in joke manner, that he was a trouble magnet. This seemed pretty accurate, even to him. He accepted this.

So why did he want to refuse that withering belief, a horrible stone in the pit of his stomach, that he and Toothless had been involved in whatever mess this was, for ages before their time? That it was only just beginning- that it wouldn't be okay?

He hated that feeling. The emotion of dread, fear, and foreboding, as they merged into a mess of anxiety. Hiccup knew it well; they were long-time nemeses.

In a sudden rush of bizarre amusement, he found that a ghost of a smile tugged at his lips.

Was he always this profound, and deep in his conscious? Questioning the motives of life always seemed like a pointless objective. So many ended up disappointed, rueful they couldn't undo what was a fact as solid as stone; you'll get the bad, the good, and you'll get the experiences; some unexpected, some planned, and others, ones you never anticipated, not once; and then you'll find what you love, what you hate; you'll witness things you dream of, and what you fear…

The adolescent lifted his head. He stared, with the slightest soft smirk, at the carvings on the wall. "I can't decipher you," He suddenly said. For a moment, he reconsidered the prospect of continuing speaking into supposed silence- if not, for the fact he swore he just witnessed a pair of blue, sparkling eyes on a dragon's depiction turn to him. Hiccup blinked, and nearly swore. That… Was… Well, _unexpected_.

He grinned. Also unexpected- oh, life was having a go at him, this time, that was for sure.

"I've seen a lot of strange things lately, especially today-" He paused, "-and somehow, I doubt that they're coincidence. Or that they're not linked. It's all very strange, isn't it, how one moment you don't believe in something at all- but then something happens, and it's like you've trusted it since you were born. People say that the world 'isn't round'. Well, who plans to prove that? We can believe whatever we want, if we only have the courage-" He grinned rather goofily; he was talking to a wall. "-Or, the sheer idiocy."

Hiccup could almost _feel_ the changes in the room- he _felt_ like there were indeed eyes resting on him, he could hear a faint hum in his ears…

He looked at the pedestal in the heart of the chamber, pitch black and glittering with strange silver flecks within, in the moonlight seeping through the _meaningful_ crack in the ceiling- somehow, it had a purpose. He just _knew_ it.

The young man stood, walked over to the pedestal, and laid his hand on the cool surface- not afraid, not questioning.

He just…. _knew._

And suddenly, it happened. Light flashed before his eyes- he gasped and started to pull away, the moment of certain bliss and sure-ness long gone. His fingers wouldn't be ripped away. Whining, he stared at the walls frantically- he considered calling out for Toothless, or the Choices- anyone.

It wasn't required. As if emerging from whispers in thin air, bounding down a wispy path, a light-footed Choices came into his line of sight, just to the corner of his left. It looked curious- and he was astounded to see another head had suddenly appeared- it was depicted with all means of curves and spikes and scales, staring at him with bright eyes, its mouth curved in a flicker of eager, yet fearful nervousness, covered in greens and oranges and yellows- a head that told him he could go forward with this new discovery…

"You can let yourself be pulled into the vision," The new head said, in its young voice- one quite like Hiccup's own. "It will answer most- if not all- of your questions… I believe. That, or, maybe the depictions on the walls- the only way to know is to push once more on the symbol."

Hiccup hesitated. "Is there an option to… You know… Back out…? This… I don't know…"

"I doubt it. You're best to go on ahead."

Fear swirled within him, blended with his conflicting emotions. So many things could go wrong- just as countless others could benefit him, too. He was curious. But- this- all of it- felt so far… beyond him. It was a task vaster than the ocean, stronger than its tides, and some-how he realised- if he accepted this, it would cover him with its waves, and he'd be drenched to the bone.

There'd be no turning back. It was a no-backing-out situation.

"You're smarter than your comrades give you credit for, Hiccup. But that… Is a quality your race rarely admire, isn't it? Yes… Well, go ahead. Curiosity is best used by the intelligent." Said the Choices; Hiccup swallowed, closing his eyes, calming his steady and slow breaths.

He pressed down on the pedestal.

Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo

A putrid smell of smoke and fumes filled his nostrils immediately- he saw searing embers and flickering fires. They littered the ground, while charred leaves fluttered down to the earth. It lingered for a moment, going forward quickly, until it veered upwards to the gloomy skies. His vision thumped up and down- it was a strange sensation, and also- familiar? The colours before him were vivid and bright; a golden tint was washed over the view of a raging sea, dark storm clouds looming high over his head. Thunder rumbled in the distance.

With a start, Hiccup realised that either he- or whatever he was looking through- was _flying_. The rhythmic movements were like those when riding a dragon, but instead, there was the feeling of the powerful wings churning- ones that weren't his own.

Suddenly, his escort's vision was pushed forwards drastically, like a lens zooming closer. It tipped downwards- the view was pulled into a descent, past thin sheets of clouds, passing through the layer, until he was gliding- would that be right?- over the ocean. White froth crashed against sea stacks, and the water had a nasty green hue- it appeared to be night.

The focus changed; with a sharp turn to the right, and then down, he could see it- a Viking longboat, struggling through the storm. Faintly, yet in a high tuned definition, he could hear the shouts and cries of the men aboard. They got closer. Just as their faces could be seen, so could he. A stocky, short man jabbed a finger at him. Shouting, the men began to do something akin to a panicked scramble for order.

To Hiccup's shock, erupting then from himself- or this vessel- came a deep, menacing growl.

He was a dragon- or, a man in a dragon's body, seeing through its eyes…

His thoughts were interrupted as the dragon gave a bone-chilling roar and ascended into a steep climb, in the corner of his vision the sight of glinting, golden talons scratching uselessly at the air underneath his head. A plume of bright red fire shot from the dragon's mouth- the creature wheeled around and circled the ship in a semicircle, its booming wings whipping the air.

"HEAD TO THE EYE OF STORM! IT'S GETTING WORSE!"

"WHAT ABOUT _THAT_ THING?!"

"BEAST! A TERRIBLE _BEAST_! IT'S GOING TO ATTACK! TAKE COVER!"

The dragon gave a snort. Somewhere, shared through the odd visionary link, Hiccup could argue for the dragon's defence. He didn't intend to attack…

But if not that, then what?

The ship was suddenly drawn out of sight- his sight took him higher above the clouds, great huffs and wing flaps coming from the dragon. It soared high and away, occasionally grunting or growling.

Hiccup felt himself growing tired, at least mentally. Not so much bored, or impatient- he wanted to know answers, or what was happening now. There weren't exactly manuals lying around for this thing… The adolescent, through the dragon, felt _powerful_. It almost felt- _right_. It was an odd sensation, to say in the least.

The dragon seemed to fly for hours on no end- at last it circled and swooped down, perching itself on a huge rock spire.

Hiccup suddenly had emotions of alarm.

How big was this dragon, exactly? If that was a rock… On a _mountain_ …

Yet again, there was little time to ponder. The ship had arrived. Had the dragon been stalking it the whole time? However, instead of engaging in combat or threat, the beast was quiet and observant, barely blinking as he- it- watched the early Vikings step out their wooden vessel, talking busily and setting up camp. Morning was coming- a scent of freshness clung to the air like a leech, unrelenting. A drive to attention, for something- a strange feeling, one that was not his own, once again.

The dragon grunted and went to fly again. It left the island and soared over the sea, snapping up about twenty large fish along the way, as what, a snack?

Hiccup was briefly aware of being confused. Then, he realised why- the connection that had them entwined was now dissipating, loosening as though a knot on an apron around the waist- soon it fell completely and his vision went inky black.

The next thing he knew, his sight had changed, again. This time, it was almost the exact same as his own- just better and sharper. This felt a little more comfortable…

A man was talking. A Viking- without the usual structure. Hiccup's surprise flared and his interest peaked- although fully grown, and seemingly respected, this Viking was tall and small in structure- 'lean and mean', as Tuffnut had once put it. A sudden understanding hit him- _Hiccup._

Huh? Hiccup? But that was his-

 _Oh._

That _man is one of my predecessors. Hiccup the FIRST. Right… So… What does_ he _have to do with all this?_

He realised that still, he was looking through the eyes of a dragon. A different one, though. This one was about the man's height- perhaps a little shorter, overall, but the dragon seemed to be standing- on all fours. A warble came from their body. A warble- a familiar warble! _A Night Fury_!

Excitement shot up inside him. Another one did exist- now they were getting somewhere!

It was quickly replaced by confusion, and not the dragon's. If Vikings had been at war with dragons since the beginning, why was this dragon- this Night Fury- still alive and keeping its head? Were they at peace? He couldn't see any others of his scaly friends in the space. Hiccup the First was absently petting the Night Fury's side (he apparently just knew this- and felt it. It was overwhelmingly weird) as he talked in a murmur. These other Vikings were his counsel.

The scene changed, blacking out before rushing back with hues of many colours. Hiccup the First was walking towards him and the Fury with a grim expression.

 _My Rider-partner-Hiccup; Are you the new Alpha-of-Vikings?_

Now, that was weird. Had he just heard the Fury's own thoughts…? The voice- as strange as it was- had to be female…

To his shock, another voice entered the space of their heads- the Chief's. Hiccup the First's. It was strong and deep, riddled with emotion- a few images popped up of a council meeting- of cheering and agreements and the banging of helmets in celebration. The words, while clearer than the Fury's own, were still scattered and broken up. _Yes, Dragon-partner-Starlight. I am the now-Alpha of my kind. And you? How did it go?_

The Night Fury bowed her head regrettably, ashamed and upset. She sent images to him- flashes of growls, and slapping tails, of disapproving snorts and hisses- some gleaming eyes stared at her from among a haze of red smoke- and she suddenly pulled away. It was too hard to show more- she daren't worry her partner further.

Hiccup the First rested a calloused but gentle hand on her snout. On the receiving end, he couldn't help but feel slightly awkward at that.

 _I am sorry, dearest-treasure-of-mine. There is nothing else we can do?_

She shook her ebony head.

 _Then we shall have to do it on our own. Do not fear, dearest-one._ He gave a wan smile _. I am sure some of your kind will be brave enough to join our ranks. Soon. Soon we can have an age of prosperous-harmonic-coexistence. Have you any news of our hated-foes, the terrors-of-the-skies, with their fangs-and-fire-and-treachery?_

 _No. They have been silent, Rider-partner-Hiccup. Do you fear them?_

Hiccup the First smirked. His eyes, black as coals, gleamed with a type of lust for blood- he playfully tugged on one of her ear-plates.

 _I do not._

She gave an approving snort and lifted her head to a majestic hold. _Then neither shall I._

The scene switched out; now he was suddenly in the frenzy of a battle. Fear and shock reigned supreme- had he been controlling the strange vessel he was now in, with its vision tainted purple, surely, they would have frozen in place, and fallen from the sky fogged with the scent of thick blood and fumes.

The new dragon he was in seemed to be fighting another of its kind- it was hard to see, as it kept attacking from random angles, concealed by the dim clouds. It seemed to be covered in sharp, dark blue scales- its eyes were such a blazing yellow, at first Hiccup mistook them for being _actually_ on fire.

Alas, their opponent was just _extremely_ angry.

The two beasts were clashing in midair- it was hard to tell what was going on- pain and dizziness, of all things, kept blurring the vessel's vision.

Before he knew it, it had changed again. It was almost too fast to keep up with the following events- Hiccup the First and his Night Fury, Starlight, declared war on- who? The- Dragon Warriors? The monster dragons? Hiccup wondered if his head could explode from his conflicting emotions and the rapid flow of thoughts…

"Perhaps we should focus on something…" Hiccup yelped, suddenly thrown back into reality- he fell flat on his rear, groaning as he rubbed his pounding temple. The Choices eyed him critically. "…Easier to process."

"Yeah… Probably a good idea."

He stared tentatively at the pedestal- the red skull was glowing faintly. His gaze shifted and landed on a depiction just opposite his right foot; a wall, and a dragon with a gaping mouth…

Before he could even think for himself, his hand was on the symbol and his mind elsewhere.

This time, Hiccup was small; accurately sized, so to speak.

His vision was through the normal, human lenses the heir was familiar with; but what with the crimson skies and great clouds of smoke, perhaps it shouldn't have been.

It was raining ash. Edifices and homes alike were up in flames. Timber lay in splintered planks, and stone was reduced to mere rocks and sharp pebbles and shards, scattered on the charred dirt…

His ears stung painfully, even as only a growl emanated in the human's range. That growl, deep as the ocean's depths, morphed into a sound to rattle the broken ground and strike sheer terror into the hearts of man.

It was the roar of a dragon; a huge, vicious beast. As its wings parted the skies, its dull, dark blue scales sheening once from the light of its fire, its tail, long and whip-like, snared around a watchtower already half crumbled; it went down in a disastrous mess, the monster shrieking shrilly. Its claws raked the smoky atmosphere as it soared; its teeth snapped cruelly at anyone in sight, be it shouting or crying. Its wings curled, and the tail lashed to-and-fro, as it rose upright, glaring with glowing yellow eyes down at the burning town, while it flapped in the air.

Hiccup stared with horror running free in his stiff posture- the person who was his sight was moving a lot, running and loudly yelling in a tongue he didn't know…

The structure beside the man suddenly erupted in pieces; cries pierced the air, soon overtaken by the shrieks of two of the titans. Snarling with cold menace, the blue was wrestling another- he kept thinking it was a chalky white, tinted with mint. Their path was one of destruction. A platoon of soldiers- including his current vessel- were trying to escape the fight before their lives were lost to it.

Crying out in despair, their group on horseback (did those horses have the horns of rhinos and long tails like lions, or was his vision funny?) came to a rumpled stop. Their charges whinnied and roared, rearing and panicking.

Hiccup could understand why.

The city's outer wall was shaking- a blaze of golden fire shot over their heads, illuminating the silhouette through the rotten smoke; a hulking figure of a beast. It suddenly lifted its long, spiny neck, arching up like a serpent out of water. To their ultimate distress, a gleaming black paw slammed down on the wall- the dragon's booming roar resonated through the city while the sharp claws latched onto the wall's top surface- immediately the rock started to collapse and crumble under the massive pressure. A part of him was fascinated by its form- almost like a hand, four 'fingers'- talons- were covered in sharp, jewelled black scales of an inky shade, tinted vaguely by a navy blue. A 'thumb' was raking the outer side of the wall.

The defences were down- the wall caused a mini earthquake when the gargantuan beast's paw smashed through it.

No battering ram could even _hope_ to compare.

Hiccup had only once seen a dragon so enormous- and even then… Nothing could have prepared him to see this, or how to cope. Standing on four muscular limbs, a long, thick tail swishing behind it, with wings baring the span to cover his whole island with a nightmarish shadow; he could tell it was at least the size of the Red Death, and that was without the wings… It was sleeker; lean with muscle; and it was _fast_. Its paw swiped down a tall monument even as the man scrambled back into action with about half his troop…

If this was a battle, they were losing…

This was _terrible_ …

Hiccup's heart ached for both sides. Such hatred… What was the cause for all this warring and fear?

 _These were dark times, child._

What the-? Hiccup had heard a voice- endlessly deep and rumbling, clearly male, and that of a dragon- and just to him, apparently, considering the man he had somehow split apart from was continuing with his futile attempts to help. He looked around to the best of his ability. Underneath the size of the terrifying dragons, he was nothing. That alone was crushing any remaining bravery. All he saw was chaos. When four more of the giant monstrous dragons appeared in the sky, raining down with fire and fury, Hiccup despaired deeply.

 _I do apologise for all this… But it was way before your time. Nothing can be changed now. Accept it. Now. You won't be able to see me. I was not present at this event, in particular- but I am here now. In this day and age. I may not be by your side, but I am in your mind._

Oh. He screwed up his remaining sense of logic, if that even existed now. If he thought what he wanted to say…

 _You'll do well at telepathy, if you get the chance._

Telepathy?

 _Yes, that- you know, talking through the mind. You saw it, albeit in a weak state, between Hiccup the First, and his Night Fury dragoness, Starlight._

Hiccup had thought they were at war- it'd be nice if that'd be explained…

 _No. Not from the start and onwards, like you have been educated. No… No, it was different, child. Very different, in the beginning. When ex-_ Skulblaka Kchagarok _the_ Cruel _escaped his prison, he intended to bring darkness and death; his first targets were, unfortunately, not expecting him to stalk them. You saw this. Although, how or why Kchagarok contributed those memories… It is beyond our understanding, to the current day and onwards._

Hiccup found it useless but nodded in understanding. The young rider frowned; so that was the name of the dragon. Kchagarok? It was a weird name…

 _For a Viking, perhaps. A dragon? Nah. There's odder._

Hiccup blinked.

 _But yes, that is… The one you were… Seeing out of, at first. He's a bad dragon- went mad and rogue. After many years of being imprisoned, he escaped. He managed to survive and gather back some intelligence, driven by his insanity; he became the tyrant you saw. He was later slain by our leader, those three centuries ago- Belgabad the… I think it's fifth…_

Hiccup's eyes wandered. He frowned at the blue and the white-mint dragons fighting- by now they had taken their duel to the ravaged skies above, barely visible through the smoke. What even were they…

The voice hesitated to respond, for a while.

 _Dragons. 'Skulblakas', to be precise. Draconian Skulblakas- direct descendants of the very first dragons, the proud and powerful Alagaёsians. They were our grand ancestors, our forefathers and foremothers._

Hiccup felt like he'd been struck with a heavy weight.

The original dragons.

Holy Thor. Such thing existed? He quickly questioned the voice, and got his answer clearly- these dragons- the Draconians- had riders. Winged, immortal warriors with tails and swords that matched their dragon's scales, bonded solely to them. They were the Shur'tugalar, and the Skulblakas- they were words in a language long forgotten, translating straight to 'Rider' and 'Dragon'- although- no. Not quite. There was a distinct difference between the normal rider, and a Shur'tugal, and same with the dragons; it was a title, given to those worthy, of the Draconians, wielding strength, and magic, and prowess beyond a rider's wildest dreams.

 _Hmm. Thor would love to meet you, to be honest. So, enjoying the show?_

Ignoring the first comment as a joke, Hiccup met the voice indignantly. He had to be kidding- anyone smart wouldn't find this sight pretty.

 _Well, yes, it is hard to like stuff such as this. This is the first 'scene' you've viewed on its own- I might just tell you everything you need to know, here and now, save confusions and hassles and whatnot… Inferior complications, as they are… Yes… Hmm…_ He paused deliberately. _Well, I can tell you're madly riddled with questions, as it is. Fire away, child._

Who was this voice?

 _That's a biggie, and, one I'm not going to reveal… Garrggh, ugh, well, okay- I'll say this: You, Hiccup, are a tiny, scrawny two-leg, and, I am very superior to your said tininess. Hmm… You can call me… Hmm…_

Hiccup hid a smile; he did a lot of thinking, and seemed to enjoy saying 'hmm' a fair bit.

 _Yes- fine, that's pretty true. I do. It's a habit. Now hush, tiny-two-leg. I'm_ thinking _, as your tininess puts it…_

Maybe he could call him just that; Thinky Big-Voice…

 _No._

It was worth a shot, he thought, amused.

 _Just call me by a respectful term; Elda. That, tiny-one, is a term given to one that's greatly respected. Comes from the original Elves, of Alagaёsia. Try to remember that- could very well come in handy someday. Now- more questions- and- I do warn you, if I remember correctly, soon that man's head is going to be brutally combusted into a mess of gore and brains and blood… Yes, it's not very pleasant, so… Just a bit of foresight…_

Hiccup proceeded to practically deliver a barrage of questions; how was this all involved with him, to Berk? Why did strange people, and creatures, seem to recognise him and Toothless in ways they couldn't comprehend? What was this 'Dragonborn' deal? And what was going on with the Night Furies? Were they indeed, as he feared, extinct, excluding Toothless?

 _For your questions, tiny-one, I can answer vaguely, as of now. In due time, patience shall be rewarded with further understanding… I'll save the first for explaining last, and, well… Err… I have to keep secret the 'Dragonborn' thing, at least, for now. Now- for the Night Furies._

 _First off, no, they are not extinct. Admittedly, I am not perhaps the most knowledgeable on their current standing, but yes, there are more. Indeed, they are very, very rare now; not on 'Epic' or 'Legendary' scale, but yes, I'd say they only thrive at… Maybe one hundred, two hundred, if they've been doing alright… There is a reason for it, yes… Yes, someday, that'll be explained. Also- your dragon does come into it, vaguely, but that's for the history lesson…_

The rider sighed deeply to himself, preparing for an explanation- a lecture, if listened to by Fishlegs. He could already sense this was going to be long.

 _Sorry… Not really a shorter way to say it… You see, young Hiccup, long ago- about three centuries, to be exact- there was the Dragon Nest, as you know, and they had their Queen- the vicious and formidable, yet wise, kind and benevolent_ Red Death _that loved and protected all her subjects- the lower dragons we know as the 'Descendants' category. A_ Red Death _\- the five_ Deaths _, for there are different types of the_ Death _species- is in the Alpha category. The first thing that happened- well, that was the Vikings- the Berkians, your kind- and they arrived at the island you call home._

 _Understandably, at first the Vikings were scared and afraid. Initially, the dragons wanted peace between them…_

Hesitant to continue, Elda sighed.

He seemed greatly perturbed, while Hiccup was eagerly listening.

 _It was… Complicated. One night- well, Starlight- the female Night Fury you saw through- gathered her courage and directly approached the village of the Viking settlers. She befriended their young heir, Hiccup the First, the one to find the new land, and then, to bring a beautiful but short-lived peaceful era. It… Wasn't to last._

 _But, there was a drama unfolding between the Queen, and the rogue Skulblaka you see to your right, quite rudely interrupting Church- Kchagarok the Cruel._

 _At that point, he was enormous, lethal, and around 200 years old. Recently, he had spent 73 long, painful years alone in prison, insane, his rider slain- he spent 8 years free in the realm of Midgard, spreading devastation and darkness in his madness. The Draconians tried haplessly, and failed each time, to track and take him down. Then, he ended up at the beginning of Berk, and destroyed that fragile peace. He fell in love with the Queen, the type of rough-but-vaguely-real romance you'd expect between two… not quite… exemplary… dragons, for that sort of ordeal._

 _Alas, together they supposedly, according to legend, brought forth one egg- a Skulblaka egg, and, with traces of Red Death in her; generally not a good starting point. As red as blood, and rather huge, but- she couldn't hatch without a rider._

Hiccup sensed a horrible sense of foreboding, and dread. Elda was solemn and grave.

 _None, not even I, could have predicted what would happen from there. The Queen had been fooled and believed solely in her mate and child- when the Draconians finally pinned their location, and arrived, the deed had already been done. Forced by Kchagarok to do his evil bidding, an innocent man assaulted and impregnated the heir's wife, magically enchanted the process, and once the strange, alien-like child had been delivered in the dead of night- he murdered that poor woman, leaving the sleeping village soaked in blood and death. Only that man, soon to also be killed now his job had been completed, and Kchagarok, had known the truth, and for so long…_

Horror had frozen his mind, numbing his senses. The vision didn't seem to matter anymore. Rapidly, he was beginning to feel sick.

 _As you can guess, chaos quickly took over like wildfire. Although they had to wait for the child to grow, they now had a rider conveniently prepared for the blood-red egg. The Berkians were outraged and horrified- and also confused. Hiccup the First was devastated. When the Draconians arrived, it was immediately blamed on them- it didn't help that the first dragon they had seen, while on the seas, had been a dark blue Skulblaka- Kchagarok- and he hadn't exactly been welcoming. Hiccup the First became Chief. War broke out between the Draconians, and the Berkians. As you also saw- Starlight tried to get help from the Nest, but the Queen didn't wish to get involved, innocently unaware she was partially responsible for it all._

 _The Draconians were the 'hated-foes, the terrors-of-the-skies, with their fangs-and-fire-and-treachery' that the two spoke of. It was a tragic misunderstanding, and cost both kinds much misery and grief. The Draconians killed Kchagarok in this very battle, as you can see… Well, you_ would _see it, about three hours later. Long battle, I'm afraid._

That couldn't have been good.

 _It really wasn't…_

Hiccup cringed, watching the gross head-explosion he'd been warned about. He'd officially lost every bit of appetite he'd had for the day. Elda paused, allowing him a moment of solitary. This wasn't a pleasant revelation to accept.

 _I know… Shall I continue? Very well…_

 _If there's one thing I can tell you, that's false in other perspectives, is that there wasn't any 'Shur'tugal' to the line of the famous poem-thing, where it says:_ _'_ _And thus, the Skulblaka and his Shur'tugal did be slaughtered'… Kchagarok's rider had long been dead._

The heir thought about, and sent his theory _._ Maybe it was referencing the man he'd enslaved and used; that man did die around the same time, hadn't he?

Elda gave a long hum of appreciation, a rumbling, trilling noise. Or was it praise?

 _Very good, child. Yes- that is the most likely outcome. More misunderstandings, just to pile over the countless others. After that, Hiccup the First and Starlight tried to kill the Red Death, considering how mad she'd suddenly gone; she presumed the murder of her mate was at the hands and talons of Berk._

Hiccup's mind sagged. There was no way that his ancestors had succeeded. The Red Death had been very much alive, until they had fought…

 _Unfortunately, yes. Hiccup the First, and his Night Fury, were gravely wounded, and died shortly after to their injuries. It became something of a three-way war. The First Dragon Raids began._

 _2 years later, and finally something changed. Not a good change, though- oh no, not at all…_

What could _possibly_ be worse?

 _Scarlet hatched._

Hiccup was puzzled. Who was…? Another Skulblaka, perhaps? A Viking?

 _Nowadays, technically, she's referred to as 'Queen' Scarlet._ She's _the one responsible for your three-hundred-year-war. She was the blood-red egg, the daughter of Kchagarok the Cruel, and the Queen. The child had mutated awkwardly into something of a young adult, and the dragoness hatched for her._

 _Initially, Scarlet loved her mother, and the Nest, and her rider- only the last one stayed like that._

 _As soon as she was able to fly and breathe fire and claw and bite, Scarlet and her strange partner had set out, joining the Raids. Devastation increased ten-fold. But, on the only upside- the Draconians then turned away from Berk. They left them alone, ignored them… They focused on Scarlet, and her rider, and the Queen. Normally, taking down the Red Death wouldn't have been too hard, if not for her ruthless and terrifying daughter._

What happened, then? How-

 _Just listen, child…_

He obeyed, reluctantly. Suspense tingled behind the surface of his conflicting emotions- none were positive or pleasant, he had to admit.

 _The Queen discovered the truth of the rider's origin. Now, usually, that rider is dubbed 'the Bastard'. The Queen murdered the rider mercilessly… It only got worse. Scarlet went half-mad, destroyed by the death- she attacked her mother, almost killing her, but in the end she fled, leaving both sides broken and grieving. The Raids stopped, for a while. The Draconians left._

 _The ending- well, I wouldn't even say there is one. But, putting it simply- the Red Death would have left Berk alone, if not for Scarlet's return, a few years later. From what we know… She_ enslaved _her_ own mother.

Hiccup was still and silent. No… He didn't want to believe it…

 _I am afraid it is so. The Queen was fairly innocent, forced into madness, to force her beloved subjects to bring tyranny and hate and war._

 _I understand how hard this must be for you- and for you to believe. I know. But it's the truth._

Elda stopped for a few moments. If the speaker had some sort pf beard, Hiccup pictured that he'd be stroking it, thinking deeply, pondering the wide depths of possibilities and perceptions in seemingly plain words.

 _As for your dragon… Toothless the Night Fury… Now, I don't know the full story- but. Let me get this straight, Hiccup._

 _You were both born in the same moment, same night, same month, same year. This was not coincidence- no. It was destiny, partly fulfilling a prophecy told by an ancient dragon, one long-awaited by thousands and thousands of souls. Toothless is purely bonded to you- and ONLY you. His egg was passed around from place to place by Dragon Riders, who prayed it would hatch to someone- they'd both be born on the 'Brightest Night'. It ended up on Berk- and he hatched for_ you _._

 _This prophecy-_ you _and_ Toothless' _prophecy_ \- _has been around for over three centuries, even before Scarlet's time, or Kchagarok's escape. Only when that happened, did it come back to attention, and in full-swing…_

Hiccup was strangely the most disturbed by one assumption he had in mind… One that seemed hilarious to the presence in his head.

 _No, child- Toothless is, by no means, over three centuries old._ Elda laughed whole-heartedly chortled. _No, that'd be awkward… I think, technically, he'd be somewhere around… I don't know… Eighty, maybe? He's twenty years from out the egg- same as you. But, the fact stands- that happened. And… Well, the only reason he stayed, was the Queen. She kept him here. Toothless, the 'one Furious', was her deepest secret and hope. The one thing that she kept from her daughter. She_ hoped _he'd someday find the one who was born on the Brightest Night, with him- YOU. So, she kept him away from all the dangerous action- haven't you ever wondered why he never stole food, never showed himself, never attacked directly…? It was_ her _doing…_

Hiccup wished he could sit down, hold his head in his hands, and drink some tea, with an ice block on his head.

Scratch that. Two ice blocks.

Gods, this was overwhelming… Night Furies… Queens… Magic dragons and riders… Wars… And a maniacal Skulblaka-demon-daughter, who sounded about a million times worse than the Red Death- who had been a _good guy_ , for the most part? And a _prophecy_? About _him_ , and his beloved dragon, who had hatched on the _same night_ as himself? So much made sense now, about Toothless, about the war- and yet, so _many_ new _questions_ …

 _I apologise… Do you need a moment?_ Hiccup shook his head- negative. _You'd like me to continue? Hmm… Very well, then…_

 _Hiccup, I'm sure, by now, you've heard about a particular little law you avoided… The one about runts. How they're generally killed- usually drifted out to sea, I believe? Ever wondered why you're still alive? You were one of the biggest runts I've ever seen, if my sources are correct._

Yet another question that he'd always had- and until now, rarely addressed. He straightened up, alarmed. He'd never even thought about that!

Elda could have been smirking; he sounded somewhat smug, and a little reminiscent. _Your mother, Hiccup, was why. Yes, your father was hell-bent on keeping you, and so was your mother_ \- Hiccup's heart was twisted with both pain and affection for his family _\- but there was another reason... Because, she may have known you were the one, and, somewhere, a Night Fury had just hatched. Your mother, Hiccup- well, there's only one way to say it…_

Elda's voice echoed in the space of his mind- he said it in such a way that the fact was sealed instantly, and with power.

 _Your mother, Hiccup, was a Dragon Rider in the Draconic Black Guard._

 **Oo-oO-oOo-Oo-Oo**

 **ShoutOuts:**

 _ **aslan333**_ **\- And a merry (late) Christmas to you, too… Very late… In fact… Sowwy. Thanks for the review, though!**

 _ **Introvert-Dragon**_ **[Beta]- MWAHAHAHA! XD Thank you! And I am one proud child, then, as I have finally delivered the next chappy! Thanks for your help! :D**

 _ **NatBlake**_ **['Inspirational' Beta]- Hmm… Good question. Probably a 'they'. As for what's next- oh shush, I go spilling every single damn 'secret' of this story to you every time they pop up. *sigh*. Thanks for the review- sorry for the delay. Thanks for your help, as always, too! :D**

 _ **Eeveecat1248**_ **\- Hopefully this chapter cleared some things up- don't worry. It'll be explained as we go through. ;) Thanks for the review! Sorry about how late this came- I've been on something of a HttyD Hiatus. :'(**

 _ **Swainey6**_ **\- Oh… um… did you wait? Thanks for the review, regardless- I appreciate your words a lot. Not too many people seem to actually pay attention to the quality. Sorry for the wait!**

 _ **Note:**_ _My sincere apologies for the wait, dear readers. If you're still with me- well, thanks a bunch! You're awesome! But, my hiatus should be over. I've got big plans for the next few chapters!_

 **And, as always, my personal thanks to everyone who's been involved with this story, from its followers, to my inspirations, and my betas. A special thanks to** _ **Introvert-Dragon**_ **for being this chapter's beta for the first half, and another ShoutOut to** _ **NatBlake**_ **, always there to listen to my ideas! Thanks a ton, guys!**

 **NOTE:** Speaking of Betas, _NatBlake_ and I will soon be releasing a Collab story, and it will be hosted on Nat's profile, so be sure to keep an eye out for it! ;)

 **Dragonites Unite!**

 **-Crystallion12**


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